Chosen Girl and the Escaped Wizard Convict
by AnimationNut
Summary: Charlotte Potter is hoping her third year won't be so eventful. But when she discovers that an escaped convict wants her dead, she realizes that this year will be more deadly than the last, for her and her friends. Sequel to Chosen Girl and the Basilisk.
1. An Unexpected Visitor

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**An Unexpected Visitor**

Summer homework was hardly a problem for Charlotte Potter. Even though her uncle locked up all her magic supplies in the cupboard under the stairs, she managed to get them out and finish her assignments in the first week of the summer holidays. The rest of it was spent dreaming of Hogwarts or reading ahead in the textbooks.

"Come on, Ron..." Charlie muttered in annoyance as she slaved over a hot oven, cooking supper. "Where's that letter inviting me to stay with you and escape this torture chamber?"

A sharp rap at the door caused Vernon to grumble in the next room. "Who could be calling at this hour? CHARLOTTE! Answer the door, girl! And don't even think about doing anything strange, you hear?"

Charlie groaned in exasperation and slammed the lid over a pot of boiling potatoes. Her uncle Vernon had been spreading rumours that she had been attending St. Brutus' Center for Troubled Girls for the past two years when in reality she had been at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her relatives weren't happy about her 'weirdness'...

"I gotta do everything around here," she muttered as she rushed into the front hall and swung the door open.

Professor Severus Snape stood on the front stoop, his black robes billowing around him. Charlie's green eyes widened in shock and she stared at her Potions professor. "H-Hello sir. What are you doing here?"

Snape arched an eyebrow. "I've come to converse with your relatives. Are you going to invite me in or just stand there gawking?"

Charlie flushed and opened the door wider. "Sorry, sir. But I must warn you, my relatives really don't like magic people."

"Oh really?" Snape drawled. He studied his student and noted her flushed expression and gravy-stained apron. What in Merlin's name had he interrupted the child from doing?

"Who is it, girl?" Vernon hollered, stumbling into the hall. He took one look at Snape and bellowed like an angry bull. He charged forwards and Charlie yelped and dove out of the way. Snape took out his wand and gave it a flick, stopping Vernon in his tracks.

"Vernon! What's wrong?" Petunia cried, entering the front hall next. When she caught sight of Snape, she gasped in shock and took a step back. "You!"

"Tuney," Snape sneered. "It's been a while-not long enough for my liking."

"Get out of my house!" Petunia raged, hands flapping anxiously. "Oh, what did you do to Vernon, you brute?"

"Your whale of a husband is simply frozen to the stop and Silenced. I am here to have a civilized conversation, and I will have it." His tone was icy and dangerous, the one that could make any student shake with fear.

Petunia pursed her lips and nodded. Pale faced, she led Snape into the drawing room and shooed Dudley into the kitchen to watch television for fear that Snape would do something to her baby boy. Vernon was released from his frozen and silent hold and he barged into the drawing room, shouting at the top of his lungs. It was only when Severus threatened to use another Silent Charm did he shut up.

Charlie slunk into the room, green eyes darting about nervously. Petunia spotted her and barked, "Go finish supper, and don't you dare ruin it!"

The raven-haired girl nodded and quickly went into the kitchen to finish her task. Severus frowned and stared at Lily's sister. "I shouldn't be surprised that you put a twelve-year old girl to work, but I admit that I am."

"After all we've done for her the least she can do is cook dinner for us." Petunia said coldly.

Severus thought back to the baggy clothes the girl was wearing when she answered the door. "Indeed. Now, I've been sent by Dumbledore to make sure that you are treating the girl properly. Are you still starving her as a punishment?"

"No!" Vernon snapped. "We were told that if we starved her again we would be sent to court. Don't know how it is anyone's business; the girl needs a good solid punishment to get her into place."

"Starving children is not a punishment. It is cruel." Snape hissed, recalling the days of his childhood and the starvation he had suffered. "Are you buying her the proper clothing?"

"Charlotte is perfectly fine with Dudders' old clothing." Vernon growled. "Now, will you leave my house at once?"

"Not quite," the professor said silkily, getting up from the couch and heading for the kitchen. "I have a few more inquiries to make and then you won't see me again, thankfully. I don't know if I can stand in this room much longer without hexing either of you."

The two paled at this and Snape drifted into the tidy, immaculate kitchen. Charlie was standing over various pots, stirring and adding salt or milk every once in a while. A fat blonde boy sat at the table watching the small television perched on the counter. Snape assumed the boy to be Dudley, and he continuously insulted and heckled Charlie once a commercial came on. Charlie finally noticed his presence and turned red. "Hello, sir."

"Who's that?" Dudley asked rudely, frowning up at him.

"A vampire." Charlie answered. "He's a teacher at Hogwarts, if you're not careful, he'll suck your blooooood!"

Dudley turned white and screamed before rushing off to find his parents. Charlie giggled before remembering who was in the room with her. "Oh! I'm sorry! I wasn't really calling you a vampire, I just-"

"I understand," Snape interrupted. "I suppose you've been wondering what I'm doing here."

Charlie shrugged. "I'm a bit curious, yes."

"Well, Professor Dumbledore has been worried about your health ever since Molly told him about your lack of food intake. A few of our wizards at the Ministry that concern themselves with child safety came here and gave your relatives a warning. Professor Dumbledore decided this wasn't enough and sent me to make sure you are fine."

"I am fine, sir." Charlie assured him. "I actually get three meals a day. I could hardly believe it. I thought I was getting punked or something..."

Snape rolled his dark eyes. "I'm sure." But the child did indeed look healthier. She gained a few pounds and sprouted a few inches, although she still had some ways to go before she caught up to her classmates. "Are you forced to do chores like these often?"

"Yeah, pretty much every day. But that's alright. It gives me something to do." Charlie hoped her professor would leave soon. If he ever found out that she was locked in her room when company came over or forbidden to answer the telephone or use any of their electronics when they were away, it wouldn't be pretty. It wasn't a great life, but it was one she was used to and knew her place in.

Severus gave a curt nod before heading for the stairs. He ignored the protests of Petunia and Vernon and checked the doors on the second landing. One of them was very much male, with toys cluttering every corner and a wide television hanging on the wall. He pushed open another door and found a pure white cat which he knew belonged to Charlotte. The cat mewed at him before hoping onto a small bed. The toys in this room were all broken or roughed up-obviously hand me downs.

It was then Severus realized that Charlotte had not had the lavish lifestyle he had assumed she had. Really, he should have known living with Petunia wouldn't grant her any luxuries. She hardly liked her own sister. Unsure of how to deal with Charlotte now that he longer saw any trace of James in her, he reluctantly headed back downstairs.

"Everything okay, sir?" Charlie asked, wiped her hands on a cloth as she emerged from the steamy kitchen to see him.

"Everything is fine, Miss Potter. Although you do not have the life a child should have, I am aware that nothing I do can make a difference..." _Curse Albus and those darn wards..._

Slightly startled, Charlie was unsure of what to say. Severus adjusted his robes before heading to the door. "I will give Professor Dumbledore my report. If you have any troubles, I'm sure you can write to Mister Weasley and he will contact us. I shall see you when the semester begins...good evening, Miss Potter."

Thrown off, Charlie stuttered, "Good evening, Professor."

Severus left and Charlie gaped for a moment. It took a moment, but she finally decided that perhaps the rivalry with her Potions professor was over before hurrying back into the kitchen, hoping the smell of food would dispel any fury her relatives had.

...

"Happy birthday to me," the thirteen-year old muttered as the clock struck midnight. It was dark in her room, the only source of light being the silver glow cast by the moon. She hadn't been able to fall asleep, the hope that perhaps she would be getting birthday wishes from her best friends to great for slumber.

Charlie glanced at the window, absent-mindedly petting her cat Snowy. Suddenly she caught sight of something flying towards her closed window. Curious she got up and padded across the hardwood floor, peering intently out into the night.

"Wow!" She exclaimed as two owls flew towards her, both holding a third in between them. She cranked the window open and the birds flew in and landed on the bed. Snowy eyed them for a moment before settling back down, having been trained long ago to leave the owls alone.

"Oh dear..." Charlie stared at the weak grey feathery lump that was Errol. "Hang on, poor thing."

She crept downstairs and got a saucer of water. She hurried back up and closed her door firmly. She set the water on her bedside table and placed Errol beside it. The owl hooted his thanks and gulped it down. Charlie relieved him of his burden and did the same with the other two.

"Thanks, guys!" She whispered. "Can one of you stay behind?" The owls hooted and one stayed while the other flew off. Charlie sat crossed-legged on her bed and checked on Errol quickly before picking up the newspaper Errol had brought her along with a wrapped present and a letter. She unfolded the newspaper and gasped when she read the front page headline. A large picture of the Weasleys in front of the pyramids was displayed, all of them beaming and waving.

"Arthur Weasley wins annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Draw," she read aloud. "Oh, brilliant!"

The Weasleys looked like they were having a brilliant time. Charlie set the newspaper aside and picked up Ron's letter.

_Dear Charlie,_

_Can you believe it? We won seven hundred Galleons! Mum and Dad were overjoyed, and of course we were as well. Egypt is great and it's fantastic to see Bill after such a long time. He doesn't get to come home much since he works in Egypt. We got to see the pyramids, and I'm taking lots of pictures for you guys-especially Hermione. Speaking of which, she wants us to wait until we all meet in Diagon Ally to open our report cards. She's absolutely certain she helped us get an Excellent in Potions. She's mad, I tell you..._

_Mum said she would put away a portion of money to buy me a new wand. That's a relief, isn't it?_

_I do wish Percy would stop boasting...he made Head Boy and my parents are extremely proud. Fred and George are plotting something, so I think he'll stop soon._

_We'll return the week before term starts. Do you think we can all meet to get our books in London? Hope so!_

_Happy birthday, Charlie!_

_Ron_

Charlie grinned and picked up the package. She tore off the paper and pulled out a miniature glass top. "Neat!" She glanced at the note attached to it.

_This is a Pocket Sneakoscope. It lights up and spins if there's someone untrustworthy around. Considering the adventures we've had the past two years, this ought to come in handy, yeah?_

Charlie laughed and set the Sneakoscope on her bedside table. She then stared at two packages that had come with the same owl. She scooped up the first letter and read it.

_Dear Charlie,_

_I'm in France with my parents and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you! Luckily I had written Harry to tell him where I would be spending my summer and he sent his owl to me! Isn't that thoughtful of him? Hopefully it won't be too much trouble carrying my present and his..._

_I adore France! There's lots of interesting facts on wizards here and I'm writing them all down, just in case. I bet Ron is having a wonderful time in Egypt. He wrote to tell me he's taking pictures for us, isn't that sweet? He doesn't seem too happy about Percy becoming Head Boy...but I suppose I understand._

_I owl-ordered your present from the Daily Prophet. It's very good to keep up with the wizarding events._

_Oh, and if you haven't already, don't open your report card yet! Ron and Harry have already agreed, and I really want us all to open them together in London. I do hope I can wait that long, though..._

_If we don't see you in London, then we'll see you on the Hogwarts Express!_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Hermione_

Charlie opened up Hermione's present and gasped. A sleek black leather case with the silver words _Broom Servicing Kit _greeted her as she tore off the paper. She studied the contents in awe. "Thanks, Hermione!"

She then picked up Harry's letter.

_Dear Sis,_

_Wow! It feels really cool to say that. Although it's been really hard keeping it from my uncle, since he knows me so well. But I hope we know why they kept us apart soon...if I don't slip up first then the curiosity will overwhelm me!_

_I'm still taking the Glamour potion...although I'm curious to know what I look like without it. Probably an appearance similar to you, correct?_

_Ron's having a blast in Egypt and Hermione's learning a new language in France...next year we should all do something together. I hate being stuck at home, never mind how much I love Uncle Remus._

_He says I could have you over, but I have a feeling your relatives won't like you using Floo powder to travel here. Maybe next year when they're a bit more used to the idea. _Charlie snorted at this. _You know, this is technically my birthday to...wow. That's weird. I can't believe I have to pretend I'm twelve for a few more months!_

_Happy birthday!_

_Your bro, (bro! Isn't that neat?) _

_Harry_

Charlie shook her head in amusement. The two had discovered last year that they were really siblings, having been taken apart by Dumbledore and Remus Lupin, who was a good friend of their parents. They obviously had a good reason for doing so and the children decided to keep the secret between themselves and Ron and Hermione.

She opened up Harry's present and grinned when she found a book on wizarding fairy tales. Harry probably thought she had forgotten that it was technically his birthday as well, but she hadn't. While her relatives had been on a shopping trip, Charlie collected as much pocket money as she could and hurried to the stores downtown and bought Harry a book on Muggle animals, knowing that he probably hadn't heard of half of them.

Charlie took the wrapped package with her card and handed them to the owl that stayed behind. "Can you give these to Harry, please? And try to make sure his uncle doesn't see them."

The owl hooted and took off with the parcel. Charlie then turned to the last parcel, which was attached to a thick envelope that bore the Hogwarts crest. Curious, she picked up the note.

_Charlie,_

_Happy birthday!_

_Hope the Muggles are treating you well. Think you might find this useful for the semester. Won't tell you anymore-you'll have to wait and see._

_Hagrid_

Charlie reached for the package and jumped when it started to squirm and wiggle. "Oh, no!"

Snowy hissed and stood up, bracing herself for a fight. Charlie knew Hagrid would never send her anything dangerous on purpose, but the man didn't have a normal sense of what was dangerous and what wasn't.

Cautiously, she tore off the paper. A green book with a gold title flipped over and started scuttling around the room, snapping furiously. Charlie quelled a groan and grabbed a belt from her dresser. The book hid under her bed and she knelt down, carefully patting around for it.

"Ouch!" She hissed as it bit her. Shaking her sore hand she avoided the book as it flew out from under the bed and zoomed around the room. She tackled it and managed to wrap the belt around it so it wouldn't bite her anymore.

"Man...Talk about reading that hurts." Charlie brushed her hands off on her baggy pyjama bottoms and collected her gifts, placing them under her bed. She propped the cards up on her bedside table and grinned at them before opening her school letter.

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_The school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will depart promptly at eleven from King's Cross Station. Third years are permitted to go to Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to a parent or guardian to sign. A list of books is enclosed._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress_

Charlie groaned softly. She would love to visit Hogsmeade, but how on earth would she get her aunt or uncle to sign it?

...

"She's what?" Charlie howled, glancing up from cooking the bacon to stare at her uncle in horror.

Vernon frowned sharply at her. "Marge has come for a visit and I'm going to pick her up from the station. I don't want any funny business girl, and you'll stick to the story that you go to St. Brutus' Center for Troubled Girls."

Charlie scowled as she furiously pushed the sizzling bacon around the pan. Every memory she had of Marge was not a good one, as it always had her embarrassing her, insulting her or siccing her dogs on her. And a week-long visit? That sucked!

A sudden thought came to her mind and she hastily scraped the bacon onto a plate before rushing to the front hall. Vernon paused with his hand on the door handle and glowered at her. "You don't think you're coming, do you?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to tell you that third-years at my school are allowed to go to the nearby village, but they need a guardian signature." Charlie crossed her arms.

"What makes you think I'm going to sign any ruddy form?" Vernon growled.

Charlie blinked innocently. "What if I slip up and tell Aunt Marge where I've really been the past two years?"

"You wouldn't!"

"I'll try not to, but I would do my very best to remember if you sign my form."

Vernon glared at her, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "I'll sign your form if and _only _if you do a bloody good job of sticking to the story."

He stormed out and Charlie pumped her fist in the air before rushing up the stairs. She started packing up Snowy's cat supplies and her cat mewed inquisitively at her. "Sorry, Snowy, but Aunt Marge has a big old ugly dog named Ripper that likes to get into everything. The last thing I want is him busting down my door and eating you for a snack."

Snowy seemed to understand and settled into her cat carrier. Charlie got everything ready and softly called out, "Dobby!"

There was _crack _and a strange creature appeared in the middle of her bedroom. Charlie listened for any signs of her aunt rushing upstairs, but there was none. "Hello, Dobby. How are you?"

Dobby was a Houself that used to belong to the Malfoy family before Charlie had him freed. She offered the elf a place to be her Houself and he had eagerly accepted. She made sure not to work him too hard and always told him how much she appreciated his work. For the summer, she had him loaned to the Weasleys, but since they were in Egypt he was house-sitting for them.

Dobby beamed at her. "Dobby is being well, Miss! The kind Wheezy's send Dobby gifts of thanks! Does Charlotte Potter need Dobby?"

"Yes, actually. If you don't mind, can you take care of Snowy for a few days while my relatives have some guests over? They don't like cats, you see..."

"Dobby will gladly be taking good care of Snowy!" Dobby took the supplies away first and came back for the cage. "Will Miss be needing anything else?"

"No. Thank you very much, Dobby." Charlie smiled at Dobby and he grinned at her before Appartating away. Charlie then took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do this...I can this..."

But when there was a hearty knocking at the door, Charlie felt her confidence dip severely. "Oh, who am I kidding? She's gonna sic her dog on me the second I open the door!"

Why did she have to be the one that always got hurt?

**Hey, guys! I'm back :P But I warn you now, I have math this semester and therefore I have no idea when I'll be able to update. Math is the bane of my existence, and it keeps me down...curses!**

**So, how do you feel about the change in attitude Snape has? If you have any ideas concerning the two of them, I like to hear suggestions :)**

**Review please!**


	2. Lucky Break

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Lucky Break**

Charlie shuffled down the stairs and ran a hand through her tangled raven hair. Petunia and Dudley stood by the door but both were looking at her in irritation, as if wondering why she hadn't opened the door yet. Managing to plaster a smile on her face, she opened the door-and immediately got smacked in the head with Marge's cane.

"What took you so long, girl?" Marge barked as she strode inside with her brother right behind her. Vernon thrust his armload of bags into Charlie's arms and the girl quickly hurried to drop them off in the guest room. Taking a nervous breath she headed back downstairs to join the others for tea.

"How's my little Dudders doing?" Marge cooed and pinched Dudley's pudgy cheeks. The boy managed not to scowl and waited patiently for the money that would be pressed into his hand. He wasn't disappointed.

"So you're still here..." Marge muttered when Charlie sat down at the clean table. "You better appreciate what my brother does for you, Charlotte. I'd have dumped you in an orphanage if you had been put on my doorstep."

Charlie just smiled and picked up a biscuit. "Don't smirk at me, girl! I hear you've been attending St. Brutus' Center for Troubled Girls. Hasn't done a thing for you! I hope you've been getting the cane."

Charlie glanced at her uncle who nodded. "Yeah...I have been. They definitely don't hold back."

"Good! A thrashing every once in a while is what you need to get your attitude on track. Now fetch me some tea and don't put in too much sugar!"

Ripper, who was lounging by Marge's feet, snarled as she got up. Charlie swallowed a moan and hastily prepared Marge's tea. _It's only one week...I can handle this._

...

It was five days in when Charlie was certain she was about to snap. Between the insults, demanding orders and Ripper trying to kill her, she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Charlie managed to stay in her room reading the book Harry sent her until dinner time, in which she was told to hurry up and prepare supper. Ripper sat by the door, staring at her and baring his white teeth. Every once and a while he would start forward menacingly and Charlie would hold him back with a saucepan until he got bored and settled back down.

Her relatives came into the kitchen just as she was setting the table. Charlie served them all without being asked to (she knew what was expected of her) and sat down, making sure her feet were tucked under her.

Petunia dished out the brandy and Marge took a hearty swig. "Very good, Petunia. Dudley, you be sure to eat everything on your plate. I'm certain in a few years you'll become the perfect gentlemen just like your father."

Marge turned her attention to Charlie. "You, however, have that hoodlum look to you. It can't be helped, as it all boils down to blood. Nothing against your family, Petunia, but your sister was the bad egg of the bunch. It didn't help that she ran off with that good-for-nothing, and the result is sitting right with us."

Charlie's left eye twitched. Marge took another gulp of brandy and continued on. "I was hardly surprised when you told me the both of them died in a car crash. They were probably drunk, and it's not like they had a life worth living-"

"Enough!" Charlie snapped, standing up and pressing her palms against the table. She ignored Vernon's deadly glare and knew her chances of going to Hogsmeade were flying out the window. "My parents were good people who did great things!"

"Sit down, you ungrateful brat! How dare you show such insolence in front of the decent people who took you in? If your parents had survived you'd no doubt be living in an ally begging for money-"

The words suddenly died on Marge's tongue as her face and body began to swell up. Charlie suddenly realized that her anger was unleashing itself in magic form and silently cursed. Vernon shouted as Marge swelled up like a balloon and began to float towards the patio doors. Ripper barked and bit Vernon when he tried to help his sister and Petunia was screaming shrilly.

Charlie tried frantically to undo whatever she had done, but found that she couldn't. Aware that she would be in so much trouble she decided it wouldn't be worth it to stick around. She charged up the stairs and hastily gathered extra clothes and her birthday presents. She rushed back down and picked the lock to the cupboard under the stairs and removed her trunk and broomstick. She shoved the other items inside and gripped the handle an dragged it from the house and into the night, with her relatives frantic screaming fading away with each step she took.

...

"Well..." Charlie muttered as she sat on her trunk some distance away, her only source of light being the light from the moon and the streetlamp she was sitting under. "I'm probably going to get expelled now...and I have nowhere to go."

_Brilliant idea, Potter. Just blow up your aunt and run away. I suppose I could call Dobby...but I very well can't just live in the Weasleys house while they are away. Maybe he can find them and ask them for me..._

She was about to call Dobby's name when she spotted something watching her from the dark bushes across the street. Charlie slowly got up and removed her wand from her pocket in case she would need it for defense. Something with large yellow eyes and a hulking body was indeed watching her...

"Fantastic-whoa!" Charlie tripped over her own two feet and crashed to the ground, her wand hand thrusting outwards in an attempt to catch herself. Just as she was about to get up she heard the sound of a large vehicle rushing for her. Charlie quickly rolled out of the way as the vehicle screeched to a stop right beside her.

Charlie peered underneath the vehicle and noted that the beast was gone. "Oh, good. I get to live another day."

"Welcome to the Knight Bus! Just stick out your wand hand and we'll come for ya!" A voice boomed and Charlie quickly got to her feet. She gaped at the triple-decker purple bus that had appeared. A teenager stood on the steps, beaming down at her.

"Uh...thanks. How much is it?" Charlie had absolutely no idea what just happened, but she wasn't going to reject miracles.

"Ten Sickles. I'm Stan Shunpike and the driver is Ernie Prang; what's your name?" Stan asked, getting down to help her move her trunk and broom into the bus.

"Pansy Parkinson," she replied. Was there really a need to tell him she was the famous Charlotte Potter?

"Hop aboard, then Pansy." Charlie followed him aboard and handed him ten Sickles she managed to find in her money pouch that was left in her trunk. "Where you be heading?" Ernie questioned.

"Uh...London, Diagon Alley, please." She plopped down onto one of the beds and spotted a newspaper hanging about.

**BLACK STILL AT LARGE**

"Wasn't he on the Muggle news?" Charlie asked in confusion, the name ringing a bell.

"'Course 'e was! Where you been, Pansy?" Stan laughed. Charlie frowned and picked up the newspaper and read the article.

_Sirius Black is still eluding capture after his escape from the wizarding prison Azkaban. Minister Fudge is promising that he is doing all he can to bring Black to justice. Sirius Black was incarnated for murdering thirteen people with a single curse. The Muggle world has been alerted, as Fudge believes it's a necessary move to make in regarding this malicious being. The Muggles are being told Black has a gun, which is very dangerous in the Muggle world._

"Whoa," Charlie pushed the newspaper aside. "He killed thirteen people with one curse?"

"In broad daylight and every-fing," Stan nodded. "Took out a wizard an' a bunch o' Muggles. Muggles were a right mess...wizards told 'em it was a gas explosion that happened. Happened right after the defeat of You-Know-'Oo..."

"So Black was a big supporter of him?" Charlie questioned. When Stan nodded, the girl shook her head. "It makes sense, then...he was furious."

"'E was mad. When reinforcements came Black was laughing like a loon." Ernie piped up.

Charlie glanced at the picture on the front of the newspaper and had to admit that Black looked insane. _I hope I never meet him..._

The bus screeched to a stop and Charlie pitched forwards. Groaning, she picked herself up and peered out the window and was relieved to discover she was in front of the Leaky Cualdron. "Thanks, guys. I can take it from here."

She grabbed her trunk and broom and lugged them off the bus. She waved goodbye to Stan and Ernie as they sped away.

"There you are, Charlotte!"

Charlie jumped and whirled around. Fudge was hurrying out of the pub towards her, relief written across his face. "Hello..." She had to remind herself that she wasn't supposed to know who Fudge was. Surely he wouldn't take to kindly to being spied on in Hagrid's hut a year ago...

"Come! We must get inside. We have much to discuss." Fudge ushered into the pub and Tom led them to a secluded, private booth which was stocked with tea and cookies. Charlie slid in across from Fudge and took a sip of the warm liquid.

"I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." Fudge introduced and Charlie politely shook his hand.

"Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, as well. Glad to see you're alright; you've had us all in a right state, worrying about where you would run off to. But you need not worry about your aunt. We fixed her right up and she has no memory of the event. "

"Oh, well, that's good. I am sorry..."

"Think nothing of it! You can hardly control accidental magic. Now then, we ought to get you settled in a room. You need someplace to stay for the next two weeks...preferably someplace where we can keep an eye on you."

Charlie arched an eyebrow at this, but didn't comment. She followed Fudge and the keeper Tom down a long passage until they came upon a bank of rooms. Tom already had put her trunk and broom at the foot of the bed and he bowed as he left.

"Sir, aren't I going to be punished?" Charlie asked.

"No, of course not! We don't punish children for accidently releasing magic!" Fudge laughed.

Charlie considered the time she had gotten an official warning from the Ministry when Dobby used a Hover-Charm to dump cake over some guests her relatives were having. Deciding not to press the issue, Charlie nodded and inquired about Sirius Black. "Have you caught up to Black yet?"

Startled, Fudge nearly dropped his hat. "Oh! No, but we're close! Since the Azkaban guards are all angry, I'm sure we'll find him soon."

"I hope so. Hey! Sir, can you sign my Hogsmeade permission form?" Charlie asked hopefully.

Fudge hesitated before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but rules are rules and your guardians must sign it. Perhaps next year you can go...yes, it would be best if it wasn't this year."

Fudge quickly left, leaving Charlie to sigh and plop into bed, processing the events that had just occurred.

...

Charlie spent the majority of the next few weeks exploring Diagon Alley. She had refilled her money bag and bought ice-cream daily from Florean Fortescue's. She spent a good amount of time admiring the newest broom, the Firebolt in the Quality Quidditch Supplies window. When she managed to peel herself away from the beautiful broom she called Dobby and asked him to set Snowy up in her room. Dobby had been worried when she explained the story to him and Charlie assured him that she was fine and promised to contact him if anything like that happened to her again.

She decided to wait until Ron, Hermione and Harry arrived to get her school supplies, and it was on the last day of summer holidays did she encounter them when she was leaving the Leaky Cauldron for the day.

"Charlie!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing forwards and hugging her. "How are you?"

"I'm alright, I suppose. Considering I blew up my aunt and all..."

Harry and Ron snickered and Hermione frowned sternly at them. "You didn't mean to do it, did you?"

"No, I just got angry. When she started to float I panicked and grabbed all my stuff and rushed out of there. It was pure luck I managed to summon the Knight Bus..."

"I've always wanted to go on the Knight Bus." Ron sighed.

"Maybe someday we'll all grab a ride on it. How did you find me, anyway?"

"My Dad found out what happened and told us all about it. I owled Harry and Hermione and we all agreed we would meet on the last of vacation and surprise you," Ron explained.

"It's definitely a nice surprise. Shall we go get our supplies, then?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Oh, can't we all go up to your room and open our report cards first?"

Charlie was impressed. "Wow! You actually managed to go this long without peeking? I'm amazed."

"You didn't have to hear about on the way here." Ron rolled his eyes and followed his friends up the stairs and into Charlie's room. Snowy mewed as Harry petted her. Charlie dug her report card out of her trunk and the others removed theirs from their pockets.

"Okay!" Hermione said eagerly. "Now!"

They all tore the envelopes apart and removed the slip of paper inside. "Alright Hermione, you first." Harry said and grinned when Hermione proudly displayed her report card to them.

**Astronomy: O  
Herbology: O  
Potions: O  
Transfiguration: O  
Charms: O  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O**

"What a surprise!" Ron exclaimed sarcastically. Harry giggled and Charlie rolled her green eyes.

"Good job, Hermione. I suppose I'll go next."

**Astronomy: O  
Herbology: E  
Potions: O  
Transfiguration: O  
Charms: O  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O**

"Oh, man! I was so close!" Charlie snapped her fingers and shrugged. "Oh well. Alright, guys, let Hermione see if she succeeded in making you honorary Ravenclaws."

Harry sighed and nervously held his out.

**Astronomy: E  
Herbology: E  
Potions: E  
Transfiguration: O  
Charms: E  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O**

"Well done!" Hermione cried out. "I knew you could do it! All it takes is a good strong study habit and work ethic. Come on, Ron!"

While Harry stared at his report card in shock, Ron took a deep breath and held his out, fearful that his grades wouldn't be up to par with his friends.

**Astronomy: O  
Herbology: E  
Potions: E  
Transfiguration: A  
Charms: A  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: A**

"Excellent, Ron!" Hermione grinned. "See, I knew the both of you could do it!"

"But I got three A's!" Ron pointed out, disappointed.

"Ron, you had a broken wand." Harry reminded him. "Of course you wouldn't do as well in the classes where we mostly use wand work."

Ron considered this and nodded. "You're right! I'll just have to do extra well this year."

"We better go and get our supplies now. We're supposed to meet Ron's parents back here in a few hours." Hermione ushered them all out of the pub and into the bright sunshine. They got their new robes first and also some more Potions ingredients. Ron had a blast getting a new wand and carefully slipped it in his bag. They got their books next and Charlie felt sorry for the shopkeeper who had to get three Monster books out of a cage. Hermione went about, stuffing book after book in her bags (she had brought multiple ones) and her three friends stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure you need that many?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" Hermione answered as she paid for them all. "I signed up for everything, remember?"

The boys exchanged stunned glances and Charlie shook her head. As they left the shop, she spotted a book on _Death Omens _resting on a small table. On the cover was a large black dog with yellow eyes...

Startled, Charlie gave her head a firm shake and rushed out of the shop after her friends.

They helped Hermione carry her bags back to the pub and stopped only for a few minutes to admire the Firebolt. After they put Hermione's bags in Charlie's room they headed back outside.

"We have a little more than an hour to kill." Harry informed them. "What shall we do?"

"Can we go to Magical Menagerie? Scabbers hasn't been feeling well..." Ron dug out a sickly looking rat from his pocket.

"Sure. I have some money left...maybe I'll buy an owl." Hermione said and the four kids headed for the pet shop.

As Ron went to get Scabbers checked out, Charlie and Harry studied the feathery owls and talked. "So, have you slipped up yet?" Charlie teased.

Harry scowled. "No, I haven't! Although it's going to be even harder to keep it a secret this year..."

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

Harry flushed. "Er...you'll find out tomorrow. Thank you for the birthday gift, by the way. It's fascinating what weird creatures you Muggles have."

Before Charlie could ask why he was so nervous, a shriek from the other end of the shop caught her attention. She managed to spot a large ginger cat trying to eat Scabbers. Ron hollered as Scabbers made his escape and Charlie hastily ran after him to help. They cornered Scabbers by Flourish and Blott's and brought him back to the pet shop.

"You didn't!" Ron cried when Hermione exited the shop carrying the large cat.

"Isn't he beautiful? His name is Crookshanks. Oh, here, you forgot your Rat Tonic." Hermione handed Ron the bottle and he took, eyeing the cat warily.

"Don't worry!" Harry assured Ron. "You're all the way in Gryffindor Tower and she's in Ravenclaw. You don't have anything to worry about."

...

The kids made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and spotted the Weasley family at a long table at the end of the room. They joined them and greetings were exchanged all around, and Charlie got a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley.

"Glad to see you're alright! But please, don't do something foolish like that again."

"I won't." Charlie promised.

Dinner was very good, and Mr. Weasley told them that the Ministry would be sending them a couple of cars to take them to King's Cross. He didn't explain why and simply said they were doing him a favour. Everyone shuffled off to either go to bed or finish packing. Ron and Percy got into an argument and Percy refused to let Ron leave until his Head Boy badge was found. Ron needed to go get his Rat Tonic and Charlie offered to get it for him.

She hurried down the narrow passage and stopped when she heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arguing furiously. "Yikes! Lover's spat! Back away..."

"...but Charlotte needs to know!"

"And that was my name." Charlie moved a bit closer and listened intently, suddenly very interested as to why the Weasley matriarch and patriarch were arguing about her.

"Charlotte doesn't need to know anything!" Molly snapped. "I agree with Fudge; Charlotte should be kept in the dark about this. The truth would terrify her!"

"She needs to be prepared! I don't want her going to school with it hanging over her head, but she and the others have a penchant for getting into trouble and they can't do that this year! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked her up when she ran away I would bet she would have been dead by the time the Ministry found her!"

"She's not dead!" Molly protested. "She's fine!"

"Sirius Black is mad, Molly!" Arthur cried. "He managed to break out of Azkaban and no one has seen any sign of him! We're no closer to finding Black than when we started! I know Charlotte will be at Hogwarts, but if Black can break out of Azkaban, then it doesn't matter what precautions Dumbledore takes. Black might be able to still get in."

"But we don't even know if Black is really after Charlotte!"

_...you gotta be kidding me._

"Molly, the night before Black escaped he kept muttering 'Hogwarts' and 'Potter'. Black was devoted to You-Know-Who and when Harry defeated him he lost everything. He's had a long time to think about revenge and I've no doubt he's going to do everything in his power to act on it."

"Has Albus done everything he can to protect Hogwarts?"

"Of course he has. He knows very well what Black is after and is even allowing Azkaban guards to patrol the outskirts of the castle. He isn't very happy about it, and neither am I..."

"Well, if they save Charlotte and catch Black, then I'll be glad they were posted. Come, we should head on to bed."

Charlie hastily raced to the end of the passage and hid in the shadows. She waited until the two Weasley adults headed to their rooms before heading back into the pub and grabbing Ron's Rat Tonic. She handed it back to her friend and shut herself in her room to think.

Well, a lot of things made sense now. Fudge was so lenient because he was so relieved she was alive. They were getting cars from the Ministry so Charlie could be watched until she boarded the train. And it seemed like going to Hogsmeade wasn't going to happen...and then there was that possible Death Omen dog creature...

Charlie groaned and buried her face in her pillow.

"Can't I go one year without someone trying to kill me?"


	3. Darn Dementors

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Darn Dementors**

Charlie hardly felt like eating the next morning but knew if she didn't Molly would probably send Madame Pomfrey after her. She choked down some toast and eggs before gathering her stuff and joining the others outside the pub.

Two Ministry cars were parked outside, boots opened. Charlie helped Ron load in their trunks and the four children squeezed inside. Hermione and Charlie kept firm holds on their cat cages while Ron kept Scabbers in his pocket. Mr. Weasley and a Ministry wizard escorted them to King's Cross while Mrs. Weasley, the twins, Percy and Ginny rode in the other car.

"What a sight we must be," Mrs. Weasley remarked as the group headed for their platform. "Alright, everybody have what they need? Good. Percy, you and the twins go first. Alright Ginny, you and Ron next..."

Charlie and Hermione went after the boys and emerged through the barrier to the other side. The scarlet steam engine whistled loudly and Charlie couldn't help but grin. Soon she would be at the best place in the entire world with her three best friends.

"Charlotte?" Arthur called her over and Charlie headed over to him, away from the others.

"Yes?"

Arthur glanced at his wife out of the corner of his eye nervously before speaking. "This may come as a shock to you, but I feel you must know. Sirius Black-"

"Is after me," Charlie finished, adjusting her hold on her trunk. When Mr. Weasley stared at her in surprise she flushed. "I kind of overheard you and Mrs. Weasley talking the other night...I didn't mean to."

"I do hope you didn't worry too much..." Arthur frowned. "It wouldn't have been the way I would have liked you to find this out..."

Charlie smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, really! I've been through worse. I promise to be good and stay within sight of my professors."

Arthur nodded approvingly. "Be sure that you do. And promise me that you won't go looking for Black."

_Why would I do a thing like that? _But Charlie promised that she wouldn't and hurried over to the train, which was getting ready to depart. She gave Mrs. Weasley a hug and lugged her stuff onto the train. Hermione was waiting for her and she helped her drag her trunk to the very last compartment, which apparently was the only one free.

Charlie opened the door and stared at Harry and Ron, who were sitting beside a sleeping wizard in neat robes. She recognized the man instantly and shot a sheepish Harry a disbelieving look. "Is this the surprise?"

"Er...yeah."

"I didn't know your uncle was going to teach at Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed as she assisted Charlie in fitting her trunk in the racks above. The two girls sat across from the boys and Harry shrugged.

"He told me early on in the summer that Dumbledore offered him a position. He wanted to know if I would be okay with it, and I am. That's why I said it might be more difficult to keep you-know-what a secret."

"Is he alright?" Ron asked, eyeing the sleeping professor.

"Oh, he's fine. He didn't get much sleep last night, since he was preparing for his first lessons and all." Harry prodded his uncle and chuckled when he didn't even stir. "He can really sleep when he wants to."

"Good, because I have something to tell you guys that can't be shared with anyone else," Charlie informed them. "Sirius Black is actually after me...I heard your parents arguing about it last night, Ron."

Hermione gasped. "Oh, no! You must be very careful this year, Charlie!"

Harry shook his head. "Why can't we get a year to just relax and not fear for our lives?"

"I don't know why you're complaining. Black is after me, not you." Charlie pointed out.

"That's what everyone assumes. Did Black specify which Potter he was after?"

The group was silent for a moment. "Do you think Black knows about you and Charlie?" Ron whispered.

Hermione frowned. "I don't see how he could. It seems like only a few select people know, including Professor Lupin and Dumbledore."

"With everything that's happened to me so far, I wouldn't be surprised if he did know. Harry, just be sure to keep on your guard, alright?" Charlie advised Harry and the boy nodded. "Let's divert from this depressing topic and move on to one that's slightly amusing..."

She then told her friends about Snape's visit and Ron gaped at her. "He actually showed _concern _for your well-being? I don't believe it! It must have been because Dumbledore ordered him to!"

"Now, Ron! Remember, Professor Snape did save Charlie's life in our first year. Perhaps he is starting to see that his attitude towards Charlie isn't fair at all." Hermione chided.

Ron rolled his blue eyes. "Brilliant, then. Can you get him to expand that change in attitude to the rest of us?"

Harry laughed and the group spent some time playing with cards that Hermione brought. When the food trolley came by Harry bought some Cauldron Cakes for his uncle and everyone split the rest of the sweets they had bought. Ron brought up the subject of Honeydukes and Hogsmeade and Charlie sighed, forlornly telling them she wouldn't be able to go.

"Perhaps that's for the best," Hermione mused. "There may be teachers supervising, but Black seems to be very sneaky..."

"If you change your mind, I could always ask Fred and George if they know any good secret passages to Hogsmeade." Ron promised her, picking up a Chocolate Frog and stuffing it in his mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry grinned.

"We'll bring you back loads of stuff," he promised.

Just then the lights flickered before the entire train plunged into darkness. Hermione gasped. "Wha-what's going on?"

"I don't know..." Harry whispered. The train lurched and Charlie crashed into Hermione, who yelped. Ron and Harry cried out as they accidently knocked heads and a sudden "_Quiet!_" shut them all up.

"Uncle Lupin?" Harry whispered in the dark. He felt his uncle's hand take his arm in comfort and he let out a sigh of relief. "Why has the train stopped?"

Their faces were illuminated by the light of Lupin's wand. His face was grey and tired but he kept his eyes alert and on the door. "I'm not sure. Stay here." He started to get up but the door slid open before he could approach it.

A creature with a long black cloak and the hood pulled over its face seemed to float outside their compartment. The kids gasped in horror and Charlie felt an immensely cold feeling flow throughout her. Her vision blurred and went black, and in the depths of her mind she could hear screaming, terrible screaming and-

"CHARLIE! WAKE UP!"

Charlie bolted upright and panted heavily, sweat dripping down her forehead. Hermione was fanning her face with a concerned expression. Ron and Harry were gripping each other's arms, faces pale. Lupin studied each of them and dug around his pocket for a bar of chocolate. "Here. It'll help."

He broke the chocolate into chunks and passed them out. Harry immediately popped it in his mouth slumped back against the seat. "Are you alright, pup?" Lupin asked him softly, feeling it would be fine to address his charge so informally in front of his closest friends.

"Fine," Harry breathed. "Those things just suck the happiness right out of you."

"That's what they're meant to do. Azkaban Dementors are awful creatures...but they keep the prisoners in line at that terrible prison." Lupin explained.

"Sir," Ron managed. "How did you get rid of that thing?"

"It's a tricky spell that you may learn in later years. Mister Weasley, I presume?"

"That's me," the redhead agreed and offered his hand to shake. Lupin smiled and shook it firmly.

"I've heard much about the lot of you from my ward here. Despite your tendency to get into life-threatening trouble, it's good that my boy has made good friends." Ron blushed to his hairline.

"We really don't try to get ourselves killed..."

"Well, try not to let it happen this year. With Sirius Black on the loose, it would be good if you all stuck to the rules." He shot a pointed look at Harry, who grinned sheepishly.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful, and both Malfoy and Parkinson tried to start something before Lupin stepped in. The five got a carriage together and Charlie felt her heart swell at the sight of the castle, although it dipped mightily when she saw two Dementors in front of the magnificent wrought iron gates.

Everyone was whispering about the Dementors as they gathered in front of the Great Hall. Malfoy and Pansy shouted taunts at Charlie about her reaction and Fred wandered over to them, scowling. "Don't listen to them. They ran into our compartment, nearly peeing themselves."

"It was awful," Ginny agreed shakily nearby. She had been sharing a compartment with Neville and Luna Lovegood, a second-year Ravenclaw who Hermione and Charlie found to be a bit odd.

Lupin patted Harry on the back before going into the Great Hall to join the teachers. McGonagall strode out, hollering at everyone to settle down and file in. She spotted Hermione and Charlie near the back of the crowd and motioned for them to follow her. Ron and Harry shot them curious glanced before entering the Hall.

"What is it Professor?" Charlie questioned as she and Hermione entered McGonagall's office. Madame Pomfrey entered seconds later, all business.

"Ah, so it was you who fainted on the train, eh, Potter?" Pomfrey started checking Charlie over. "I can't say I'm surprised...who sends a Dementor on a train full of students?"

"An idiot, that's who," McGonagall muttered. "Will Potter be in need of a night in the infirmary wing?"

"Oh, I'm fine! No need to make a fuss!" Charlie protested. Really, it was bad enough she was the only one who fainted on the train...

"She's a bit pale, but nothing some chocolate won't fix." Pomfrey pulled out a piece from her pocket and Charlie wondered if every teacher carried some of it around with them. But being a chocolate lover, she didn't complain and stuffed it in her mouth. Hermione, who had been standing off to the side, grinned at her in amusement.

"Hmm...You've also improved in your nutrition." Pomfrey approved."A few more vitamins might be needed...but I think it's safe to skip a meal now and then. But don't even think about doing it any more than twice a week, got it?"

Charlie nodded and McGonagall said she would like to speak to Hermione in private. Charlie waited outside the doors for her and Hermione came out moments later. "What was that about?"

"Nothing, really. Just wanted to clear some things up about my schedule." Hermione said dismissively and the two entered the Great Hall.

They sat down at their table and scooped some food onto their plate. Before they could eat, Dumbledore stood up, his silver beard reflecting the dozens of floating candles above them. "Welcome all to another year at Hogwarts! As you have probably already noticed, Azkaban guards have been stationed around the school as a precautionary measure. They are here to...protect us from Sirius Black. I would like to remind you all to stick to the curfew and not wander across the grounds at night. The Dementors are not fooled by Disillusionment Charms or Invisibility Cloaks."

Charlie and Hermione flushed when Dumbledore flickered his blue gaze to them for a brief moment. "On a happier note, I am glad to welcome two new teachers to our school. Professor Lupin will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry, Hermione, Charlie and Ron applauded loudly, having taken a liking to the man. Snape was looking at Lupin with the utmost loathing, and Charlie figured it was because he was passed over for the job yet again.

"Our old Professor for Care of Magical Creatures has retired, and so please give a warm welcome to Hagrid, who will take over the position!"

The Golden Quartet whooped and hollered, sudden understanding coming to Charlie as to why Hagrid sent her a biting book.

"I do believe that is all. Enjoy the feast!"

...

"How could you let a Dementor onto the train?" Minerva McGonagall asked furiously, glaring at Albus Dumbledore.

Albus frowned, his blue eyes suddenly cold. "I would have never allowed such a thing, Minerva. It seems Fudge thought Sirius Black would sneak onto the train and wanted to have a Dementor search. My input seems to be no longer needed...how were the students?"

"They're all terrified. Charlotte actually fainted...the poor dear. Luckily Remus sent ahead a Patronus to tell us what happened." Minerva smiled at Remus, who sat beside her.

"Ah, yes. I believe the four sat in your compartment. How was it?" Albus asked gently.

Remus sighed heavily. "I can't tell you how good it was to see Charlotte again after all these years. I find it ironic that in trying to keep Charlotte and Harry apart, they became best friends. Albus, does she suspect anything?"

Albus had decided long ago not to tell anyone of his suspicions. "No, I don't believe so."

"Are you sure we can't tell them?" Remus asked hesitantly. "I've heard Charlie isn't happy with her relatives."

"I know you want to give Charlotte a good life, but we need to keep this a secret. If Voldemort ever found out Charlotte has a twin, I can't begin to imagine what he would do..."

"You can't believe Sirius kept this to himself?" Remus asked in disbelief.

Albus shrugged. "I truly do not know, but it would be best if we kept the both of them in our sights just in case. The only people that know of Charlotte and Harry are myself, you, Sirius, Severus, Hagrid and Minerva."

"How do you know Severus hasn't said anything?" Remus muttered, stabbing at his steak.

"Now my boy, I can promise you that he hasn't." Dumbledore said sternly. "We shall worry about Black and the children later. Would you like a lemon drop?"

...

"Is she serious?" Charlie whispered to Harry the following morning.

Their first class of the day was Divination, which all four of them had chosen. They crammed together at a small wooden table and sat on cushions with their shoes off. Thick perfume clouds drifted throughout the room and the teacher was a think woman with stringy brown hair and large, thick glasses that made her eyes bug out.

Professor Sybil Trelawney had just asked them to look at their tea leaves.

"Really, what am I supposed to make of this?" Ron stared at his lump of tea leaves at the bottom of his cup and shook his head. "It...looks like nothing!"

"Broaden your minds, children! Expand past the mundane thinking of your normal existence!" Trelawney exclaimed, sweeping around the room and examining their work.

Hermione snorted and shook her head. So far, she considered the class nothing more than a load of rubbish. Charlie agreed with her as she drained the rest of her tea and stared at the brown mess at the bottom.

"Miss Potter, what do your tea leaves look like?"

Harry paused from flipping through his textbook and grinned at Charlie in amusement. Charlie hesitated before staring at her tea leaves. "Um...a donkey?"

Several snickers broke out. Trelawney frowned slightly and peered over her shoulder. The professor let out a sudden shriek, startling Charlie so much she toppled off of her cushion. "What?"

"It's the Grim, dear." Trelawney whispered softly.

Hermione stared at her in disbelief. "Professor, that looks nothing like the death omen!"

"I do believe I know more about the Inner Eye than you do, dear." Hermione bit her lip to stop herself from retorting and Charlie blinked.

"What do you mean by a death omen?"

"The Grim is a monstrous dog who patrols church graveyards. If you see the Grim, then you die soon after." Trelawney informed her sadly. "Perhaps we should all spend some time with Miss Potter while we have the opportunity."

The tea cups were put away and those who believed Trelawney came forwards, shaking her hand and offering their condolences. Charlie and Hermione exchanged disbelieving glances and Ron was trying hard not to laugh. Although Charlie considered this all to be ridiculous, she recalled the large black dog and the book of _Death Omens. _

_Man..._

The bell rang and the students filed down the ladder. Harry gave his sister a sympathetic glance. "You don't really believe her, do you?"

"Not at all. What concerns me is that when I ran away I spotted a large black dog."

Ron gasped. "My uncle saw one once! He died immediately afterwards. He was really scared."

"I can't believe you! Trelawney is nothing but a fraud!" Hermione said hotly. "Charlie has nothing to worry about."

Ron looked dubious, but didn't press the matter. Transfiguration went by with hardly any excitement, as everyone was depressed due to Charlie's predicted death. McGonagall was quick to tell them that the Divination teacher predicted a student's death once a year and Charlie was grinning by the end of the period.

"Charlie!"

Charlie glanced at Ron, who sat beside her in Transfiguration along with Hermione. The bushy-haired girl was busy reading her textbook, her schedule lying by her elbow. Ron was jabbing at it and Charlie peeked.

Her eyebrows shot up. Three classes at the same time? How was that possible? She stared at Ron, who seemed just as clueless as she was. Finally, the redhead decided to say something. "Hermione? Why do you have three classes at the same time? I know you signed up for everything, but this is ridiculous!"

Hermione hastily stuffed her schedule away. "It's nothing. Probably a mistake." She didn't speak another word to them all class. Ron and Charlie exchanged glances and turned back to their work.

At the moment, it was best not to question further.

**Finally, we truly get Lupin in this story :)**


	4. Chivalry Still Stands

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Chivalry Still Stands**

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this..." Harry muttered as he stood warily at the back of the crowd gathering in front of Hagrid's hut. "Seriously, I don't think I'm cut out for CoMC."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I can't believe we chose Divination. Trelawney's going to be predicting my death every class, I just know it."

"I bet she's going to get more creative as the year goes on," her ginger friend snickered and only stopped when Hermione cuffed him across the head.

Hagrid emerged from his hut and everyone fell silent. The large man beamed at all of them. "Hullo, class! I've got a grea' lesson fer yeh today. Pull out yer books and-"

"How?" A shrill, snide voice interrupted. Charlie pressed her hand against her forehead and glanced at Pansy, who stood ahead of them, right beside Draco. The Slytherin girl held out her green book, which was bound with some tape and eyeing it in discuss. "It keeps trying to bite us every time we open it."

Hagrid blinked, astounded. "Er...well, yeh just pet it righ' down the spine."

"Oh, of course! It's so obvious!"

"Knock it off, Parkinson!" Charlie snapped as she and the rest of the class cautiously tore of their bindings and petted the book until it went silent in their arms. "Or else I'll sic my book on you and make it bite your hand off."

Ron grinned at the very idea and Hermione shot her a disapproving glare. Charlie had no idea if she could send a book to attack Pansy, but the Slytherin seemed to believe her and fell silent, glowering. Hagrid cleared his throat and ushered them all towards a paddock at the far end of the field, near the forest. He then left to go get the Magical Creature and the class burst into chatter.

"What do you think Hagrid has for us?" Harry asked nervously.

"Something dangerous," Ron replied simply.

"I can't believe you convinced me to take this class," Pansy snapped to Draco, easily heard above the bubble of noise from her peers. "If I had known this brute was teaching the class, I'd have taken Muggle Studies instead!"

"Good for you, Pansy. You should always learn about _both _sides of your family." Ron hollered out, annoyed that she had the audacity to insult Hagrid.

Pansy turned a brilliant red and whipped out her wand. It was now well known that her mother had gone and cheated on her father with a Muggle, and that she wasn't the pureblood she had always bragged she had been. Since Draco and Pansy were the only Slytherins in the class they were quickly outnumbered. Panting heavily and sparks shooting from her eyes, Pansy pocketed her wand and Draco followed her lead. "One day, Weasel...one day, you'll get what you deserve."

Satisfied that he had ticked her off, Ron waved her off dismissively. Hagrid then came back and everyone gasped at the magnificent creatures that followed him, almost a mix between a horse and a bird.

"These are Hippogriffs!" Hagrid said cheerfully. He explained how to approach one and if they bowed to you, you had permission to pet them or even ride them. But if they didn't bow, then you had to run like mad. And you absolutely could not insult one.

"Who wants teh go firs'?" Hagrid asked. Everyone backed up a step, eyeing the creatures in the paddock nervously. Hagrid's face fell and Charlie elbowed Ron in the side.

"Volunteer with me."

"Are you mad?" Ron hissed. "Those things will slice me open!"

"You've got legs, just sprint if they look like they want to tear your head off!" Charlie snapped. "Now come on!"

Reluctantly, Ron raised his hand at the same time as Charlie and both kids hollered, "I'll do it!"

Relieved, Hagrid motioned them both forwards. Charlie and Ron climbed the fence and approached the nearest Hippogriff, who looked up from their grazing to study them. Ron and Charlie bowed awkwardly, and for a long few moments the Hippogriff just stared at them.

"Can we run now?" Ron whispered desperately.

"Jus' back away slowly..." Hagrid urged them, worried about his two favourite students.

Just as the two were about to book it out of there, the Hippogriff dipped into a boy. Ron breathed a sigh of relief and started to pet it. Charlie grinned victoriously and stroked its side.

"Do yeh want to ride 'em?"

Charlie and Ron froze and shot each other panicked glances. Before either could respond Hagrid joined them and thrust Ron carefully onto the Hippogriff's back. Not wanting to leave her friend alone, Charlie followed Hagrid's instructions and mounted the Hippogriff.

"Wait!" Ron cried.

Hagrid smacked the hindquarters of the beast and they took off into the air. The ride was rocky and Charlie grabbed a tight hold on Ron.

"This is mad!" Ron howled, trying to resist looking at the ground below.

"It's not so bad," Charlie tried to say and yelped and they tilted sideways. "Okay! It's terrifying! I want my broomstick!"

After a minute, the two started to get used to the rhythm of the ride and enjoyed the crystal blue skies and sparkling lake below. The Hippogriff finally landed back in the paddock and the two kids got off shakily.

"Er...that was great. We're just going to rest for a moment." Ron managed to say before lumbering over to the side and collapsing to the ground. Charlie joined him and the other students swarmed into the paddock.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Pansy muttered as she absent-mindedly stroked the Hippogriff that had returned her bow. "They're just a bunch of ugly brutes..."

Charlie saw the claw rise up and go to swipe at Pansy. But before it made contact, Ron rushed forwards and shoved the girl out of the way, taking the hit instead. He crumpled to the ground, bleeding heavily. Charlie let out a shriek and rushed to her friend.

"It tried to kill me!" Pansy screamed as she hastily backed up. "The thing tried to kill me!"

Too worried about her friend to deal with the ungrateful snake, Charlie kneeled down beside him and gasped softly at the long gash down his arm. "Oh, Ron! What did you do that for?"

"I don't know..." A pale Ron managed to get out. "My brother Charlie took me to see the dragons he works with the past summer...I guess the instincts of duck or tackle hasn't worn off yet."

"It was a very Gryffindor thing to do," Hermione said as she and Harry ran up with Hagrid behind them. "Pansy better be grateful."

Pansy glared at her but the Golden Quartet didn't notice. Hagrid scooped Ron up in his arms and rushed to the castle with the three following right behind him.

...

"Well, I suppose it was good that you took the hit instead of Pansy." Hermione mused as she and her friends settled themselves by Ron's bed. Ron gave an offended snort and the girl quickly explained. "If Pansy had gotten struck, then Draco would have made his father fire Hagrid or something worse! Yes, you knew it wasn't Hagrid's fault and won't make a big deal out of it."

"It hurts like mad," Ron moaned. "I can't believe I did that!"

"Hagrid is talking to McGonagall right now and Dumbledore said he would owl your parents." Harry chuckled. "I hope your mother brings some biscuits over."

"Harry!" Hermione rebuked sharply.

"So, Weasley, what idiotic thing did you do now?" A silky voice questioned. Everyone turned around to see Snape as he swept into the room, holding a vial of potion. He sneered at the pale redhead in the bed, expecting some story of typical Weasley stupidity.

He certainly did not expect Charlie to say, "Actually, sir, he shoved Pansy out of the way before the Hippogriff could attack her after she insulted it."

Snape eyed her and the defiance that shone in those familiar green eyes. It was always like Lily to defend her friends, and it seemed that the trait passed down to her daughter.

And a Gryffindor being valiant for a Slytherin was unheard of, especially if that Gryffindor was a Weasley. Oh, why were the brats making it so difficult to dislike them? He had nearly had a heart-attack when realizing that Ronald's potion grade had amassed to an **E**, a feat only two Weasleys had ever accomplished.

Even Lupin had managed to get an **E**, and it was soon becoming obvious that he was not the prank-pulling Marauder his guardian was.

Snape uncorked the vial and bent over Ron's slashed arm. "This will sting a little, Weasley."

Ron braced himself and let out a hiss when the liquid dripped into his cuts. Hermione held onto his hand and squeezed it tightly to distract him from the pain. Soon the uncomfortable sensation went away and Ron let out a heavy sigh. "Sir, what was that for?" He asked.

"It's a Purifier Potion, Weasley. It cleans out any possible infection in scrapes and cuts." He slipped the vial in his robe pocket and eyed the redhead for a moment. "If it starts to act up, come see either me or Madame Pomfrey immediately. Try to be more careful next time, Mr. Weasley."

Ron would have retorted if he hadn't realized that the Potions professor said this with no sarcasm or malice and that he had actually used a formal title instead of just using his last name. Snape left the infirmary and the ginger shook his head. "He was actually _civil_!"

"That's because you actually risked your life to save Pansy, a Slytherin. That has never happened before." Harry explained. "I guess you finally proved yourself to him."

"Professor Dumbledore said that Professor Snape hated me because he hated my father. I'm not sure what his relationship with my mum was like, but I think he might be seeing a bit more of her then him. That's the only explanation I have for his change in attitude towards me."

"Yeah! He didn't even take points away from you when you spilt your ink!" Harry exclaimed.

"Too bad Neville's cauldron exploded...that ruined his slightly good mood, didn't it?"

...

Ron was cleared from the infirmary a few hours later. It was just in time for supper and the redhead joined his Housemates, who were either glaring at him or shaking their heads. A lot of Lions would have loved to see Pansy get knocked a good one and didn't appreciate Ron for taking the hit for her.

The ginger was amazed to see fifty points had been added. He asked who had earned them and everyone shrugged, having no idea. He glanced at Harry over at the Hufflepuff table and the boy gestured subtly towards the Potions master. Ron gaped, hardly daring to believe it, but it seemed like it was true.

Professor Severus Snape, for the first time in his career, had given Gryffindor points.

...

"Hey, look!" Harry exclaimed as they passed by the high glass windows on their way from the Great Hall. He pointed at the dim light glowing in the dark and grinned. "Hagrid is home! Maybe we should go see him."

"He didn't get a chance to see you Ron, did he?" Hermione mused. "And he wasn't at dinner...perhaps we ought to go tell him you're okay."

"But there's ten minutes until curfew," Charlie pointed out. "And I don't think I should be walking out past dark."

"We'll be quick." Ron promised. The four rushed for the front doors and managed to slip into the inky black night. They hurried down the steps and across the field for Hagrid's hut. Hermione rapped on the door and Fang barked eagerly. No one answered, so Hermione gave the door a little push and it opened.

"Oh, Hagrid!" Hermione shook her head disapprovingly when she spotted Hagrid on his lumpy couch, drinking heartily from a tankard of ale.

Hagrid glanced up, his eyes red-rimmed and his face flushed. He burst into tears upon seeing Ron and the redhead tried to calm him down. "Don't do that! Really, I'm fine!"

"Yeh might've bin killed!" Hagrid blubbered. "School gov'nors are holdin' an investigation...I'm gonna be sacked!"

"No you won't!" Ron said forcible. "My parents know you, Hagrid. They know it was an accident and won't press charges."

"Yer family is good people...but I reckon Lucius Malfoy will find a way teh make a mess of things." Hagrid sniffled. "He's still got a lot of pull within the Ministry and some o' the gov'nors."

Charlie winced. She knew Pansy and Draco had probably told their parents about the incident. It didn't matter that Ron was attacked and his parents wouldn't press charges; a student had been injured and Malfoy would do everything he could to make sure Hagrid got fired. "Even if Malfoy does convince them to take you to court, we'll back you up."

"Yeah!" Harry agreed.

Hagrid burst into tears once more and collected them all in a hug. Hermione managed to escape and she grabbed the half-full tankard and brought it outside to empty it. When she returned, Hagrid seemed to collect himself.

He blinked at all of them as if it was the first time he was truly seeing them. Then he yelled so loud even Fang jumped. "WHAT ARE YEH DOIN' HERE?"

"We came to make sure you were okay!" Harry squeaked.

"YOU HEARD DUMBLEDORE! NO WANDERIN' THE GROUNDS PAST CURFEW!"

"Curfew isn't for five more minutes!" Ron protested.

"Do yeh want teh get caught by Black?" Hagrid demanded, grabbing Charlie and Harry by their arms and shot a warning glare at Ron and Hermione that told them it would be in their best interest if they followed him. "It's not safe teh be out here! Don' let me catch yeh again!"

Hagrid escorted them all the way back to the castle and didn't leave until he was sure they were all going to their respective dorms.

"Does he seriously think Sirius Black can get onto the grounds that easily?" Hermione asked after they bid farewell to their two male friends.

Charlie shrugged. "To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he was waiting in the Common Room for me."

It wasn't the best thing to say, as both girls were paranoid when they entered the dim Common Room. A figure moved towards them and both girls shrieked and whipped out their wands and fired defensive spells. Each one was deflected and the lights flashed on to reveal a startled and not-happy Professor Flitwick.

Charlie gulped, heart pounding. "Well...good thing he used to be a duellist."

...

Harry grinned at them in amusement the next in Potions. "You attacked your Head of House?"

"It was an accident!" Hermione defended. "Besides, it was Charlie who got me paranoid. Professor Flitwick demanded an explanation and we had to tell him why we weren't present for the Head Count. He wasn't pleased and took away ten points each."

The dungeon door banged shut and Snape swept towards the front of the room. He gave his wand a flick and the instructions appeared on the board. Harry, Hermione and Charlie got to work. Pansy and Draco hissed whispered threats about getting Hagrid sacked every once in a while, hoping to get a rise out of them. When Hermione told them to 'grow up and shut up', Pansy snarled and called her a Mudblood-perhaps a bit louder than she intended to.

Everyone gasped and Snape stood up so quickly that his chair flew back and struck the wall behind him. Charlie had been on the receiving end of those icy, furious black stares and was shocked to see it aimed at Pansy. "What did you call Miss Granger, Miss Parkinson?" He asked in a dangerous whisper.

Hermione and Harry exchanged startled glances. Pansy stared at Snape with wide eyes and stammered, "I-I don't know what you-"

"Don't _lie _to me!" Severus growled.

Pansy gulped. "I called her a Mudblood...sir."

What happened next nearly made Harry drop his wand into the potion they were brewing. Snape took away thirty points and issued Pansy a detention-_with Filch_! Pansy and the rest of the class were absolutely stunned. Snape frostily returned to his reading and Charlie grinned. "See? I told you he changed," she whispered to her friends.

The bell rang and Pansy was the first one out of there. Everyone else gave their flasks of potion to Snape and shuffled out, still trying to process what had happened. Hermione handed their potion over and whispered, "T-Thank you...for, you know..." It was the first time she had ever been at a loss for words.

Snape, who would have normally had some cutting remark on his tongue, simply nodded. "If its one thing I despise above everything else, Miss Granger, it is that disgusting word."

Hermione nodded and she hurried to meet her friends, leaving Snape to wonder what exactly was wrong with him.

...

Charlie waved goodbye to Harry as he departed for History of Magic. Ron met up with her at the bottom of the stairs and asked, "Where's Hermione?"

"She's right beside-"she started and turned around, only to see that the spot where Hermione had been a second ago was empty. She scratched her head and looked around in confusion until she spotted Hermione racing down the stairs towards them.

"But you were just-"Charlie began but Hermione wheezed, "Forgot something!" and took off for their DADA class.

"Okay, something weird is going on."

"Ya think?" Ron muttered.

...

Charlie and the rest of the class followed Lupin down the twisting corridors. Peeves was milling about, chalk in his hands and ready to fire. Everyone shrieked and darted past the poltergeist with hands covering their heads. Lupin chuckles and shot Peeves a glance before hurrying after them. Charlie giggled and waved at Peeves, who grinned crookedly at her in return. Ron and Hermione offered cautious smiles as well and followed Charlie after their departing class.

"Wow," Ron whispered. "I think you're the only student that's actually on good terms with Peeves."

Charlie shrugged. "Just get him a Christmas present. You'd be surprised at how grateful he'll get."

Lupin led them all to the staff roof and ushered them inside. The students stood near the walls and stared with nervous eyes at the cabinet that was rumbling every so often. Lupin stood in front of the cabinet and smiled reassuringly at them. "Don't worry, it's just a Boggart."

"A Boggart?" Dean repeated in confusion.

"Ah, yes. Can anyone tell me what a Boggart is?"

Hermione raised her hand and Lupin nodded at her. "Boggarts are **shape-shifters that can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."**

"Excellent job," Lupin praised. "Boggarts like tight, dark spaces. Now, we have an advantage over this Boggart. Would anyone like to guess what that is?"

Charlie took a chance. "Well, a Boggart doesn't know what our fears are yet. Since there is so many of us, it won't know what shape to form."

"Very good! That's the best way to confuse a Boggart. To take care of it, you have to use a powerful charm that uses the force of mind. Boggarts don't like laughter, and so you have to force it into something you would find amusing. Everyone repeat after me; _Riddikulus_!"

"_Riddikulus!" _Everyone hollered.

"Very good! Neville, come up here please."

Pale and shaking, the poor boy walked up in front of the cabinet. "Neville, what do you fear most of all?"

"Professor Snape," he answered, hands trembling.

Lupin smiled softly. "Understandable. What would make you find Snape not so frightening?"

"Well..." Neville began slowly. "I suppose if he was wearing the clothes my grandmother wears, he wouldn't be as scary."

Everyone giggled. Lupin was grinning now. "Right then, just picture Snape wearing your grandmother's clothes and say the incantation. Here we go!"

He swung open the cabinet door and Professor Snape burst out, black eyes glinting. Neville squeaked and raised his wand, stuttering, "_R-Riddikulus!"_

There was a _crack _and the Boggart Snape was now in an ugly green dress with a vulture hat. Laughter rang throughout the room and the Boggart looked around in confusion. Lupin called out the names of other people to step forward and soon _cracks _filled the air. Ron trembled only slightly at the sight of a very large spider but succeeded. Charlie wondered why her name wasn't being called, but remembered that having Voldemort pop into the middle of the room wouldn't be such a good idea.

But it was to her amazement that not even a trickle of fear appeared when she thought about the Dark wizard. In fact, it was the thought of Dementors that made her tremble. _How odd..._

The Boggart turned towards her suddenly and started to take a form. Lupin stood in front of her and it immediately changed into a silver sphere. Lupin flicked his wand and the Boggart finally disappeared. "Very good, class. Five points to everyone who took on the Boggart and five points to Hermione and Charlie for answering the questions correctly."

"That was interesting," Ron mused as they headed for lunch.

"I do wish I could have taken on the Boggart..." Hermione sighed.

"I wonder why Professor Lupin's fear was the moon." Charlie frowned. "It doesn't really make sense?"

"How'd you know that the silver thing was a moon?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Really, Ron, what else would it be?" Hermione scoffed.

Ron threw up his hands. "Ravenclaws!"


	5. Just an Average Day

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Just an Average Day **

"I really don't want to go to class today..." Charlie groaned the next morning at breakfast, picking at her bacon and eggs. Divination was her most dreaded class, and Trelawney was predicting her death more frequently. If Charlie didn't have a mass murder after her then she might not have been bothered as much.

"I think I may drop that class." Hermione frowned and looked up from the book she had been reading. "It's teaching me nothing at all."

"Well...I think I'm going to stick to it for the next few years." Charlie finally decided with a shrug. Despite the whole 'death' thing, she found Trelawney to be very amusing and she and Ron had a good laugh over many things she said. Hermione was the only one truly disgusted by her so called Inner Eye and Charlie was certain Trelawney was the only teacher in the school Hermione did not respect.

"I suppose I'll just wait and see if she starts to say something worth listening to," her bushy-haired friend stated before going back to her book. Charlie rolled her eyes and pushed her breakfast around her plate before spotting Harry at the Hufflepuff table. Curious as to how his DADA lesson had gone, Charlie got up and wandered over to her brother.

"What's up?" Charlie asked as she squeezed in beside him and ignored the odd looks she was getting.

"Eating." Harry gestured towards his plate of fruit. "Want one?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Miss Potter..."

Sighing, Charlie turned around and shot a pleading glance at Flitwick. "I'll just be a second! It's not like I'm going to destroy the delicate balance of Hogwarts by sitting here for a minute."

The students burst into laughter and Flitwick arched an eyebrow at her. Charlie grinned innocently and turned back to Harry. "How'd your first DADA lesson go?"

Harry made a face. "I hate Boggarts. I'm lucky I managed to get rid of it...I always shake when I see werewolves."

"Where, pray tell, do you see werewolves?"

Harry flushed. "Er, nowhere. Just in movies and books, and they really creep me out."

Charlie shrugged. "Understandable. Hey, do you know why your uncle's greatest fear is the full moon? Hermione and I can't figure that one out."

Harry had been drinking some pumpkin juice at this point and spat it all out after hearing her question. He coughed and choked and Charlie eyed him, startled. Before she could ask what was wrong a sharp tug of magic pulled her from the bench and pushed her towards the Ravenclaw table. "Okay! I'm going!" Sheesh."

...

"Hey, Charlie! Our first practice will be tomorrow after dinner."

Charlie stopped by the doors that led from the Great Hall to face her Captain and fellow Housemate Scarlet Ezra. "Wait, are you saying we actually have the first booking this year?" With the Slytherins and Gryffindor battling for practice time, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs hardly got any.

Scarlet grinned. "Yup! Wood was supposed to have it, but I managed to convince him otherwise."

"How'd you do that?" Wood was extremely competitive and Charlie was amazed that he had let go of his precious practice time.

"Don't you know? Wood and I started dating over the summer holidays. He lives a town away from me and well...it just happened." She laughed and patted a shocked Charlie on the shoulder. "He can be a bit of a stubborn jerk sometimes, but he is really sweet once you get to know him. See you on the pitch!"

Charlie stared after Scarlet and then turned to Wood at the Gryffindor table. Her brow furrowed as she tried to picture the two together and ended up scaring herself. Shuddering, she shook her head and left the Hall, not noticing the amused glance of Albus Dumbledore watching her.

...

"So Filius, two of your third-years tried to hex you, yeah?" Pomona asked with a grin. Filius rolled his eyes and glared at her.

"I don't know what got into their heads, walking around outside minutes before curfew, especially Charlotte. I know they both have brains..."

"I daresay Ronald has been a bad influence on them, "Severus drawled and took a sip from his goblet. Minerva was about to defend her Lion when she caught his slip of tongue. A baffled look crossed her face.

"Did you just call Mister Weasley Ronald?"

"I did not. You're hearing things, Minerva."

"You did!" Pomona exclaimed. "What on earth has gotten into you Severus? You've been tormenting every child in this school besides your own Snakes, and the only four I have yet to see slave away in my greenhouse are what the students are calling the Golden Quartet."

"The Golden Quartet?" Lupin asked in amusement.

"I don't even think they are aware they are being called that. But since they're always together someone came up with a name that referred to all of them without having to list their names." Minerva snorted. "They may not pull pranks or cause trouble, but they definitely get _into _trouble a lot without meaning to."

"Perhaps they will be a bit more loyal to each other than your 'friends', Lupin." Severus said. Lupin's eyes flashed and Albus immediately stopped the argument before it could begin.

"Severus, I trust Remus completely and I know he is not helping Black in any way. What happened to their friendship is a tragedy and should not be made fun of. It is time to forgive and move on." Albus said sternly.

Severus scowled. "Oh yes, because I should forget that he almost _killed _me!"

"I didn't know you were there!" Lupin hissed. "And I know Sirius got out of hand sometimes, but he never would have sent you if he knew there was a possibility of you getting hurt."

"Just like he never would have killed thirteen people and be working for You-Know-Who, eh Lupin?" Severus sneered. Lupin fell silent and started picking at his food.

Albus was staring at him disapprovingly and Severus knew he would be getting a lecture later on. But really, how could the old coot expect him to bury the hatchet when the hatchet contained so many bitter memories?

...

"That was a very interesting CoMC lesson," Ron muttered as they trekked back to the castle. Hagrid had been out of sorts the past few days and they were currently studying Flobberworms, which were hardly interesting.

"He's just playing it safe. Can you blame him?" Harry asked.

"My parents promised that they don't blame him at all! They aren't pressing charges! They sent him _biscuits_!" Ron flung his arms in the air and winced slightly at his sore arm. "Honestly, what's he worried about?"

"Ron, we've told you. Just because your parents aren't worried doesn't mean others are." Hermione pointed out.

"Haven't you heard?" Pansy called out loudly, having overheard them. "Draco's father told the school governors all about the brute's dangerous teaching skills and that disgusting creature. They're going to investigate!"

She and Draco sauntered away, laughing cruelly. The four friends looked at each other in horror before twisting on their heels and booking it to Hagrid's hut.

...

Hagrid had indeed gotten the notice of the investigation, and it took a good ten minutes to make him stop crying and promising that they would help if a trial should happen. Hagrid hugged them all and they limped back up to the castle, wondering exactly what they had gotten themselves into.

"I'm going to kill them," Ron growled. "How much do you want to bet that I'm going to be forced to go to the trial as a witness?"

"But that's great!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can explain everything to the judges and tell them Hagrid and-oh, what did Hagrid call him...Buckbeak, of course!-are innocent."

Ron nodded slowly. "I suppose I could do that."

"But let's not worry about that now," Harry cautioned. "We don't know if a trial is for sure."

They passed by the Great Hall and spotted a new notice on the board across from the doors. They read it and Charlie let out a disappointed sigh. A Hogsmeade visit would be scheduled on Halloween, and Charlie would be stuck at the castle.

"Perhaps you could ask Professor Flitwick if you can go." Harry suggested.

"Oh...but what about Black?" Hermione asked worriedly. "He's very sneaky and he might hurt Charlie."

"We've gotten into worse scrapes, haven't we?" Ron asked. Charlie couldn't help but grin and agreed to ask Professor Flitwick if she could go.

"Brilliant! And if he says no, then you can just use your Cloak and sneak out." Ron said cheerfully.

"Ron!" Hermione and Harry cried.

"What? It's a good plan; if she's invisible then Black won't see her and therefore won't be able to hurt-OI!"

Crookshanks (who had managed to get out of the Common Room) had launched himself at Ron and struck him in the small of his back. Ron hit the floor and his bag fell from his grasp. Scabbers wiggled out of the pocket and took off with Crookshanks right behind him. The Golden Quartet hollered and raced after them.

It took a good five minutes to finally snag the cat and get the rat to safety. Ron panted heavily and glowered at the snarling cat. "What's he doing out here?"

"I don't know!" Hermione cried. "I left him in the Common Room! Someone must have let him out."

"You need to start controlling him or else I'll hex him into next week!" Ron threatened.

Hermione gasped. "Crookshanks is a cat! Cats chase mice! He doesn't know any better and apparently neither do you, you right git!"

The two glared at each other before storming away. Charlie groaned and Harry shook his head. "Man...How long do you think this will last?"

Harry pursed his lips. "I give it a week, give or take. They can fight for a really long time."

"There really is something weird about that cat..." Charlie mused. "I'm not sure how much more Scabbers can take. He looks ready to keel over."

"I definitely don't want to be around Ron when that happens..."

...

Hermione and Ron didn't speak to each other for the next few days. It only got worse when Lavender from Gryffindor started crying because her pet rabbit died on the exact day Trelawney predicted something would happen that she had been dreading. Hermione had tried to insert some logic, only to offend Lavender and have Ron insult her.

"Go ask him!" Ron urged at the end of Charms. Charlie got up and wandered hesitantly up to Flitwick's desk.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Potter?" Flitwick glanced up from his papers and peered at her.

"Well, tomorrow is the Hogsmeade visit and my aunt and uncle didn't sign the form for...personal reasons. If I ask you for permission, could I go?" Charlie asked hopefully.

Flitwick shook his head sympathetically. "I'm sorry Miss Potter, but I'm afraid only your guardians can give permission. Perhaps next year, eh?"

Knowing she would not get the answer she wanted, Charlie left the classroom and shook her head in the negative at Ron. The redhead sighed. "Well, what about the Invisibility Cloak?"

"Dementors can see through them, remember? The last thing I want is to get blasted or something."

...

Charlie walked with her friends to the Entrance Hall, where students were swarming out of the doors and being checked off a large list by Filch. "We'll bring you back loads of stuff," Ron promised.

"Is there anything specific you want?" Hermione asked. For the moment, she and Ron were on good terms with each other, the argument forgotten much to Harry's relief.

"Lots of Zonko's stuff." Charlie dug out a handful of coins and dumped them into Ron's hands. "And sweets. Whatever money is leftover you can use."

Ron flushed and Charlie grinned at him. "It's the least I can do for the hero that saved Pansy, who deserves to be cut a good one."

The ginger smiled gratefully at her and the three started for the large line-up. Charlie sighed and started for her Common Room before deciding she didn't want to spend hours staring at a fire and turned around.

"What's the little birdie doing here all alone-y?"

Peeves appeared before her and followed as she strode down the corridors. "Well, my pals went off to Hogsmeade and my guardians didn't sign my permission form. Professor Flitwick wants me to stay here and now I have nothing to do."

"You can help Peevsie bother old Filchy!" Peeves suggested cackling madly. Charlie grinned.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll leave that up to you. Don't bother Filch too much and shove Norris in a suit of armour for me, would you?"

Peeves agreed and sped off. Charlie whistled for a moment before a voice called her name. She turned around and spotted Professor Lupin at the end of the corridor. She walked over to him and smiled. "Hello, Professor."

Lupin smiled in amusement. "Hello, Charlotte. You know, that is the first time I have ever seen Peeves actually converse with a student civilly before."

"I'm making Hogwarts History." Charlie said off-handily.

"Where are my ward and the other two?"

"Off at Hogsmeade. They ditched me to get a sugar high." Charlie sighed in mock-disappointment. "I'll forgive them as long as they bring me lots of sweets."

"Why don't you come in?" Lupin ushered her into the room that Charlie figured was his office. There was a desk and a bookshelf that was overflowing with material and a large glass tank with a sickly green creature with small horns staring at her.

"What is that thing?"

"That is a Grindylow. We'll be studying it for our next lesson." Lupin explained as he took a kettle from a small cupboard and tapped it with his wand.

"I won't have to touch it, will I?"

Lupin laughed. "Only if you want to, but I advise against it. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thanks. I have a personal vendetta against tea bags at the moment...and tea leaves."

"Ah, yes. McGonagall told me all about your death sentence." Lupin sat down across from her. "Are you worried?"

"Not really." But then Charlie remembered the dog and wondered if she should be worried. Lupin must have noticed her change in facial expression.

"Something wrong?"

"Er...no." Charlie glanced around the room and her gaze fell on the small cupboard, suddenly reminding her of the Boggarts. "Actually, sir, I was wondering why you didn't let me tackle the Boggart."

"Isn't it obvious?" Lupin asked with a surprised expression.

"I suppose it's because you thought my greatest fear is Voldemort. I admit I thought about him at first but it was only when I thought of the Dementors did I really feel scared," Charlie admitted.

"I'm impressed, Charlotte. The thing you fear most is fear itself. That's very good. Did you think I didn't believe you were capable of taking on the Boggart?" Lupin asked with a raised brow. Charlie flushed and was about to answer when the door opened to reveal Professor Snape carrying a smoking goblet.

"Ah, thank you Severus." Lupin smiled and accepted the goblet from Snape. Snape cast a glance at Charlie, who smiled and waved.

"Professor Lupin was showing me his Grindylow." Charlie gestured towards the tank and wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I'll touch them, though."

Lupin let out a snort and Snape rolled his eyes. "You're rambling again, Miss Potter. Lupin, I have a cauldron-full if you need more and I advise you to drink it directly."

Curious, Charlie watched as Lupin downed the whole goblet just as a slightly sneering Snape left. Lupin noticed her questioning look and explained. "I've been feeling ill lately and asked Professor Snape to brew me a potion. Now then, are you sure you don't want to pet the Grindylow?"

...

"You guys rock." Charlie grinned as Hermione dumped brightly coloured sweets and various Zonko products onto her midnight blue bedspread. Snowy pawed at the candies and mewed hopefully. Charlie laughed and petted her before packing away her treats and following Hermione out of the Common Room, where Harry and Ron were waiting for them.

"Were you bored?" Harry asked worriedly, feeling guilty for not offering to stay behind.

"Nah, I spent the day with your uncle. He showed me the Grindylow and we had some tea, and then Professor Snape came in with a potion and he drank it. Is he feeling alright?"

Harry coughed and tugged at the collar of his robe. "Yes! He's fine. He gets sick quite often though..."

"Lupin actually drank what Snape gave him?" Ron asked in disbelief. "Doesn't he know that Snape's wanted that job for years?"

"Now, Ron. Snape would not try to poison him in front of Charlie, and he's not as bad as we used to think. I'm amazed, to be honest, at how much he's lessened his spite towards us." Hermione mused. "But he seems to be willing to start over and we should as well."

Ron shook his head and they all entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween feast was already going in full swing. Charlie indulged herself in sweets and pumpkin pie. Hermione told her all about their day at Hogsmeade and when Nearly Headless Nick played out a re-enactment of his beheading the two Ravenclaws cheered along with the Gryffindors.

The evening stretched out and soon they were being shooed to bed. They bid goodbye to Harry and the two Ravenclaws were about to depart when they heard faint shouts coming from the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Curious, they followed Ron up the staircase and were surprised to see a traffic jam of students in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What's going on?" Ron called to his sister, who was nearby. She shrugged in reply and soon Percy's sharp cry was heard about the noise.

"Someone get the Headmaster, quickly."

Ron started to shove his way towards the front of the crowd and his two female friends followed. They gasped collectively when they found the Fat Lady gone and her portrait slashed to bits. "Blimey..." Ron whispered.

"You don't think..." Hermione began and eyed Charlie worriedly.

"Who else would it be?" Charlie sighed. Only Sirius Black could have done such a thing. "But why Gryffindor?"

"Perhaps he thought that's where you would be Sorted," Ron suggested, slightly pale. "I mean, everyone thought you'd be a Lion when you came to Hogwarts. How would Sirius Black know otherwise that you're a Ravenclaw?"

It was then Dumbledore, Snape, Lupin, McGonagall and Flitwick made their way through the crowd and to the front. Dumbledore called for silence and it came immediately. "Professor McGonagall, I want you to find Mr. Filch and search for the Fat Lady. I want to know what happened here."

McGonagall sped off and Dumbledore scanned the crowd. He spotted Hermione and Charlie inching their way from the crowd and a burst of panic went through him. If Sirius Black was still in the castle, then it would not be wise for two third-years to wander the corridors alone-especially if one of them was Charlotte Potter.

"Miss Potter and Miss Granger, stay where you are." He said sternly. Flitwick's eyes widened as he found his two Ravenclaws where they weren't supposed to be.

"I'll deal with you two later," he promised before turning to Albus. "What on earth happened here?"

Albus turned towards the Charm professor after making sure no other students were trying to sneak away. His brain worked overtime, trying to figure out why Black had attempted to enter Gryffindor Tower instead of Ravenclaw Tower. "I do not know..."

"The Fat Lady is in a right mess," came the familiar cackle of Peeves from above. The poltergeist was watching the chaos with a smile.

"Did you see what occurred here?" Albus asked sharply.

Peeves nodded his head cheerfully, although the cheer faded slightly when he noticed Charlie among the crowd. "Yes, Professor Head. The Fat Lady wouldn't let him in without a password and he attacked her. She ran off in tears and fled through some trees a few corridors over. Sirius Black has one nasty temper."

Screams rang out and Dumbledore quickly regained control. He ordered them all to the Great Hall and they were watched over by Nearly Headless Nick, who was comforting the ones who were close to having a panic attack. Peeves floated near Charlie in an almost protective manner-which Hermione found very sweet.

"We're very lucky nothing happened to the Fat Lady," Hermione said optimistically. "And it was a good thing we were all at the feast."

Charlie nodded. Something was bugging her, but she wanted to tell her friends when they were together. There was a piece of the puzzle out of place...and she wanted to know where it fit.


	6. Near Death by Dementor

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Near Death by Dementor**

The other Houses were alerted and soon the student population had gathered in the Great Hall. Dumbledore came in moments later and everyone ceased their chatter and eyed their Headmaster anxiously. "For your safety, you will all be spending the night in the Hall. Teachers and prefects will keep guard and alert me at the slightest disturbance. Sleep well, and do not worry."

He gave his wand a flick and the tables flew against the walls and hundreds of soft purple sleeping bags littered the floor of the Hall. Dumbledore left to assist in the search for Sirius Black and the Gryffindors started telling other House members of what had occurred.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Harry whispered as he and his friends grabbed a bunch of sleeping bags and dragged them to a secluded corner.

"Well, Sirius Black tried to break into the Gryffindor Tower." Charlie said flatly as she collapsed into her sleeping bag. "Which really doesn't make sense...but I suppose he could have thought I would have been Sorted into Gryffindor. I wonder when he'll realize that I'm not."

"How did he get into the castle in the first place?" Harry asked nervously. "I mean, you can't Apparate and the Dementors can see through any disguise."

"He might have been able to get in through a secret passage," Hermione suggested. "But didn't Filch nail them all closed?"

"What bugs me was why he chose Halloween to attack." Charlie stared at the starry ceiling with a troubled expression. "Wouldn't he have known that everyone would be in the Great Hall?"

"Perhaps he lost track of time." Harry suggested. "Or maybe he never went to school here at all."

Charlie figured they probably wouldn't be getting any answers. The four lay still and listened to the sounds of soft breathing and muffled chatter. A few hours passed and Dumbledore returned. Charlie turned her head and pretended to be asleep.

"Have you found him?" Penelope Clearwater asked in concern.

"No. We've searched the entire castle. To be honest I did not expect Sirius Black to linger. I see no point in moving the children now. You should get some rest as well, Miss Clearwater."

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Charlie cast a quick glance at Harry when Snape entered. He, Hermione and Ron were still awake and were listening intently to the conversation happening a few feet away.

"Yes, Professor Snape?" Dumbledore questioned. "Have you found something?"

"No, Headmaster. Others are still searching, but I doubt that we will find anything. I want to express my concerns that someone on the inside may be helping Black into the castle...particularly the person you have just assigned the position of-"

"You've expressed these concerns before and my answer is still the same. I trust everyone in this castle, Professor Snape." Dumbledore responded sharply.

"Professor..." Penelope spoke up. "Didn't the Dementors want to help search?"

"They did indeed." Dumbledore's kind blue eyes flashed for a brief moment. "But while I am Headmaster, they will not enter this castle."

Dumbledore left and Snape let out a frustrated sigh and glowered around the Hall. Charlie squeezed her eyes shut and could practically feel Snape's eyes on her still form. After a moment she could hear his receding footsteps and she bolted upright.

"What was all that about?" She hissed.

Ron glanced around the dark Hall and was relieved to see that the other prefects were either asleep or deep in their own conversation. "Snape believes that someone on the inside is helping Black into the castle...the person Dumbledore recently hired."

"It's not Uncle Remus!" Harry said hotly, furious that anyone would think of such a thing.

"We know!" Hermione said quickly. "We've all seen how Professor Snape looks at your uncle-it's obvious they don't like each other very much. Perhaps Professor Snape was just hoping Headmaster Dumbledore would believe him."

"He sounded pretty certain." Ron pointed out. "But I don't think its Remus either."

Charlie groaned and buried her head in her hands. "Why is it we always have a mystery to solve every year? First year it was 'what is the big monster dog guarding', second year was 'what's Petrifying all the students' and now it's 'who is letting Sirius Black inside the castle?'"

"Don't forget 'how is he getting in and when will he realize Charlie is in Ravenclaw?'" Ron added.

Hermione cuffed him across the head for the last part and they all tried to get some sleep, minds humming with unanswered questioned.

...

"What were you two _thinking_?" Flitwick demanded the next morning. He had summoned his two wayward Ravenclaws to his office in hopes of knocking some sense into them. "I told you specifically the last time I caught you that you aren't allowed to be wandering around minutes before curfew!"

"But we were with other people!" Charlie tried to defend her and her best friend.

"Yes, but then you tried to leave the group when it became apparent Sirius Black was in the castle. You were going to wander the corridors alone if Professor Dumbledore hadn't caught you!" Flitwick crossed his arms and frowned sternly at them. "You're both in Ravenclaw for a reason-start acting like it. This is your last warning. Miss Potter, may I have a word with you in private?"

Hermione got up and left. Flitwick shook his head and sighed. "Miss Potter, there's something you should know, and I don't want to frighten you but its best that you understand why it's crucial that you follow these rules."

"Are you going to tell me Sirius Black is after me?" Charlie asked. "Because I already know that."

Flitwick's face was priceless.

...

"He was actually going to take away Quidditch?" Ron asked in horror that afternoon as he and his two female friends walked for DADA.

"Yeah, but I convinced him to allow Madame Hooch to supervise our practice sessions. Good thing, because our first match is against Hufflepuff next week and Scarlet would kill me if she found out I wasn't playing. I think Wood's competitive influence is getting to her."

They walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and were startled to find Professor Snape standing at the front of the room. "W-Where's Professor Lupin?" Ron asked in surprise.

"He's ill." Snape said curtly. "Sit down."

The three took their regular seats. "Since Professor Lupin has failed to give me information on his lesson plans, we will spend this class learning about werewolves."

"Sir, we've just finished Grindylows." Hermione timidly spoke up. "We were about to start on-"

"I would expect my first year class to learn about Grindylows, Miss Granger." Snape interrupted. "But it is obvious that Professor Lupin doesn't have the competence to properly teach a class."

"He's a brilliant professor!" Dean Thomas snapped a few rows away. "The best DADA professor we've ever had!"

The three in the front flinched, knowing very well Dean had dug his own grave. Snape's black eyes glittered and he whispered, "Thirty points from Gryffindor. Speak out again, Thomas, and you'll receive a detention. Now all of you open your textbooks to page three-hundred and nine."

Everyone bitterly took out their books and turned to the assigned page. "Who can tell me the basic distinction between a werewolf and a regular wolf?" Snape asked.

Hermione's hand shot into the air and to everyone's surprise (especially Hermione's) Snape nodded at her. "W-Well, the snout of a werewolf is longer than that of a regular wolf."

"I suppose that will do. Only one person knows how to recognize a werewolf, eh? I'll have to inform Professor Dumbledore about Professor Lupin's shoddy teaching skills. I want a two-foot essay on werewolves by tomorrow. Get working."

After an hour of silence (and Ron prodding them for answers) the bell rang and everyone rushed out of class. Charlie let out a soft whistle as they headed for the Great Hall for some lunch. "Professor Snape really has something against Remus, doesn't he?"

"Do you reckon it's because of the Boggart incident?" Ron asked.

Charlie and Hermione shrugged. "To be honest, I'm worrying about more important things. For example, if Black is waiting in the Common Room for me."

"Don't start that again!" Hermione howled. "No, I don't want to hear it! Professor Flitwick might actually hex us this time!"

The mental image caused Ron to burst into laughter.

...

"You don't look so good," Hermione frowned in concern as Charlie lazily prodded at her plate of fruit. There were dark bags under her tired green eyes.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. I awoke around four in the morning and got quite the fright when I found Peeves hovering by my bed."

"He really does worry about you. I think it's sweet!" Hermione smiled and Charlie snorted.

"I appreciate it, considering I'm the only student in Hogwarts History he has ever expressed concern for, but I nearly had a heart attack. He's good company though...he helped me in Wizards Chess and taught me how to curse in three languages."

Hermione wasn't too pleased with her new skill.

...

"Scarlet, this is mad!" Tommy Nickerson howled over the roaring winds and pounding rain. It was the day of their Quidditch game against Hufflepuff and the weather was just awful. Charlie was starting to wish she had eaten a bit more for breakfast-the last thing she wanted was to feel faint on her broom in these conditions.

"Hufflepuff isn't calling off this game and neither am I!" Scarlet shouted with her dark hair plastered to her face. Her eyes burned with competitive passion. "We are going to play and we are going to win!"

"This is ridiculous," Aurora Lore muttered. "How are we supposed to see our targets in this mess?"

"Use your gut feeling." Scarlet snapped. Off in the distance they could see the yellow robes of the Hufflepuff team. Students were gathering into the stands, braving the conditions to see their beloved sport.

Clancy Stevenson shook his head as they filed to the middle of the pitch. "Looks like that back-flip on my broom will have to wait until the skies are clear."

"Are you sure you don't want to attempt today?" Aurora asked innocently. "I'm sure you'd do wonderfully."

"Please! You just want to see me face-plant on the pitch."

"I really don't like this..." Danny Carting said nervously. "I can hardly see my hand in front of my face."

Eliza Mourning patted his shaking hand in comfort. "I'm sure the Headmaster wouldn't let us play if he knew something terrible would happen to us."

Madame Hooch hovered on her broom near them. "You know the drill; a good clean game, and be especially alert in this weather. Are you sure you don't want to reschedule?"

"No!" Scarlet and the Hufflepuff team captain hollered. Harry shot Charlie a frightened glance and Charlie managed an assuring smile.

The whistle blast was hardly heard over a crack of thunder. The players shot into the sky and Charlie relied on her sense of hearing, trying to pinpoint where the whistling Bludgers were at all times. Her eyes were on the lookout for the glittering Golden Snitch. Cedric Diggory was a pretty good Seeker-but perhaps not as good as Charlie.

_For the love of Merlin! _Charlie swerved just in time to avoid the Bludger rushing towards her. _If Sirius Black is lucky, then this match is going to be the end of me!_

...

"Albus, you are insane!" Remus hissed as he stared worriedly at the game. He could just make out his charge weaving his way through the air, fumbling with the Quaffle every once in a while. At one point Charlie flew up to him and took his glasses. She waved her wand and the glasses glowed for a moment before returning to normal. The Ravenclaws knew very well what she had done and groaned.

"What happened?" Pomona asked frantically. "I can't see a thing!"

"This is precisely why we should call this match off!" Remus cried.

"Charlotte has just cast an _Impervius _on Harry's glasses." Albus chuckled. "I daresay the Ravenclaws won't be too happy about that."

"Well, that was nice of her. Ten points to Ravenclaw." Pomona decided.

"Severus, give me those binoculars! I want to see _something_!" Minerva snapped at the Potions professor, who sat below her. "I don't even know how you can see anything, Albus!"

"An old man has his tricks." Albus said idly. "Remus, you must calm down. I attended this game specifically so no student would be harmed. They were so looking forward to this game and I didn't want to deprive them of it. If one falls off, I'll be sure to catch them."

"You better!" Filius and Pomona shouted.

Remus gulped and tried to keep his eyes on his charge. Harry had been worried when the full moon had passed and gone straight to his quarters when he was sure it was safe to visit. Remus hated having Harry worry about him, and he didn't blame Harry for his fear of werewolves. Although Harry had made it perfectly clear to him that he was scared that Remus would permanently become a werewolf and leave him.

It was hard to hide such a secret from the boy he was raising. How could you explain where you went once a month and came back looking unwell? How did you explain an almost endless line of babysitters and nannies? Why, if it wasn't for the bonus he got for raising Harry Remus probably would be living in poverty. Yes, Dumbledore had taken great pains to convince the Ministry that Remus was a suitable guardian for Harry. It had taken a few months before he was fully trusted, but it had paid off.

When Harry was seven Remus finally had to tell him that he was one of the monsters that he read about in his picture books. It had come as a great relief when Harry hugged him tightly and promised that he didn't think anything less of his beloved uncle.

Remus felt guilty about not informing him about his true parents and how they really died. He longed to tell Harry that he had a sister. But it was best to keep all this a secret...who knew what Sirius had exposed to the Dark Lord?

A pang went off inside his chest along with an uncomfortable feeling. Even now, after all these years he had trouble believing that Sirius was in ranks with the Dark Lord and had killed their dear friend Peter Pettigrew. It just didn't make sense; especially that Sirius had never told the other Death Eaters about Harry. Surely someone would have hunted them down by now?

The thought too horrifying to think about Remus turned his attention back to the game. He would listen to Dumbledore now and if he ever did encounter Sirius...

Well, it would be a tragic end.

"Albus!" Severus suddenly cried, his face turning white. "The Dementors-!"

But he need not finish that sentence. A frigid cold swept through the stadium along with a sudden silence. Students were screaming but the screams could not be heard. Cedric snagged the Snitch just as hundreds of black demons swarmed onto the pitch. Various teachers jumped up and started casting their Patronus, but they just weren't strong enough. Severus truly tried, but the sudden recollection of a dead Lily caused him to struggle for control.

Albus was reliving the death of his beloved sister, and he would have drowned in his despair if the terrified screams of his students did not penetrate the horrible memory.

Fury radiated of the Headmaster as he cast his own Patronus, which effectively cleared the Dementors from the stadium. Students sobbed and Cedric was shouting something that sounded like, "_Rematch! I want a rematch!"_

But what terrified him the most was Charlie, limp in the arms of Harry Lupin as he tried desperately to stay on his broom and hold her up. With a cry of anguish Charlie slipped from his grasp and hurtled for the ground. Dumbledore quickly cast a spell that caused Charlie to slow down, hitting the pitch with less force.

"Is she alright?" Severus demanded, standing up and rushing down the stands along with the other teachers.

"Minerva, get these students into the Great Hall and have Poppy stand by with a supply of chocolate." Albus demanded.

"But it's not fair!" Cedric could be heard shouting at Madame Hooch as they neared. "Charlotte fell because of those Dementors-this doesn't count!"

"You won fair and square, Cedric." Scarlet sighed. "Congratulations-now if you'll excuse me."

"Hang on, Miss Ezra!" Filius called to his Eagle. "I would head back to the castle if I were you. You've been in the rain long enough."

"But professor-!"

"Miss Potter is fine. We'll take care of her. Go on now."

Scarlet nodded reluctantly before heading for the change rooms. Dumbledore persuaded the other team members to go as well. "This has been a terrible ordeal. I apologize for allowing such a thing to happen."

"It wasn't your fault, Headmaster." Eliza managed to say. "You couldn't have known the Dementors would get onto the grounds."

She was pale and trembling and that only increased Dumbledore's anger. How dare the Dementors treat his students in such a way? "Miss Mourning, you and your friends should get to the Great Hall. Chocolate does wonders, I assure you."

Hesitantly she followed the rest of her team members away. Only three students were left behind.

Harry Lupin clutched Charlie's still hand, fear written across his pale face. Ron Weasley held on to her other hand and patted it in comfort. Hermione Granger gently held her head off of the muddy ground and stroked her hair. All three had taken off their robes and laid them over Charlie's still form. Their hair was plastered to their faces and their sweaters sticking to their bodies. They shivered violently, but did not move.

"Children..." Dumbledore spoke softly. The three defiant expressions almost made him smile. He was very lucky to have such kind and loyal students in his school.

"We're not leaving!" Harry said hotly. He knew he was in risk of receiving a detention. Snape had been extremely close in giving him one a few days before when he snapped and yelled at him for insulting his uncle. Of course he knew Snape was trying to oust his uncle for what he was-but he didn't mention that part.

"We're staying right here." Ron agreed.

"Will she be alright?" Hermione asked tearfully.

"None of you will be if you stay in this weather any longer." Severus spoke up. "I suggest you listen to the Headmaster and stop being so foolish."

Remus bent down and gently pried Harry from Charlie's body. "Pup, she'll be fine. Come along."

Harry pressed to his uncle close and allowed himself to be escorted from the field. He had felt that cold sensation and the jolt of fear from Charlie when she pitched off her broom. Horrified he had shot after her in an attempt to catch her.

The Dementors definitely made him uncomfortable. But they really affected his sister...

Hermione and Ron slowly moved away from Charlie. Dumbledore conjured up a stretcher and levitated Charlie onto it. He started after Remus and Harry towards the castle at a fast but careful pace.

"Where's Miss Potter's broomstick?" Filius questioned.

"It...blew away." Ron said faintly, gesturing towards the direction of the Whomping Willow. Filius flinched.

"I suppose I ought to see if I can retrieve it."

"I'll come with you. I know a thing or two about that tree." Pomona offered and the two set off.

Severus eyed the two troublesome students, who were standing stock-still, grief and anguish evident in their eyes. It was an awful feeling he could identify with...the same feelings he had every time he thought of...

_Lily._

Gulping hard and keeping control, Severus turned towards the two shocked children. "I assure you Charlotte will be fine. You two however will not be if you stay out here for much longer. Not that I care, but Ronald your mother would murder me if I allowed any harm to befall you."

Startled at the use of his first name and the fact that the strict and cruel Potions master had actually made a joke, Ron numbly started off for the castle. Hermione slowly started forward, trying in vain to keep the tears at bay and failing.

A green handkerchief was pressed into her hand. "You children and your dramatics...it's a wonder I haven't quit yet."

...

Charlie moaned and slowly awoke. She glanced around the empty and silent infirmary and tried to remember what had happened.

Oh...yeah.

The Dementors flocking in...glimpsing Cedric catch the Snitch...hearing her mother's dying screams...

A sob escaped her throat and she pressed her palm over her mouth to quiet them. It was for the first time she noticed Ron and Harry asleep in the chairs on the right side of her bed and Hermione asleep on the couch near the door.

"Dementors are frightening child but really, you should realize no more harm will come to you."

Charlie jumped and watched as Snape slipped into the room. "Your little friends refused to leave. Madame Pomfrey was very close to throwing them out herself if the Headmaster hadn't intervened."

Charlie just nodded. The tears coursed down her cheeks as the frightening voices sounded in her head again. "Sir...is it normal to hear voices when the Dementors are near?"

"Only in very traumatic cases." Severus drawled.

"Oh...that makes sense. Now I know why they affect me in such a way. Sir...I heard my mother's dying screams."

The sobs started up again and Snape went still for a brief moment. He moved forwards and cautiously put a comforting arm around her. It came as a shock when she accepted his comfort and buried her face into his robes, sobbing heavily.

It was a turning point in their relationship.

**I hate those Dementors.**

**So, everyone liking Snape's attitude so far? Hope so.**


	7. Traumatizing Information

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Traumatizing Information**

Charlie awoke the next morning with red-rimmed eyes. The sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains and she looked at the clock. It was six in the morning and it would be a few hours until anyone awoke.

She glanced around the room and noted that her friends were still there. Warmth spread through her chest and dispelled the leftover coldness that lingered. She also recalled sobbing her heart out into Professor Snape's robes and flushed. He hadn't seemed angry with her for doing such a thing...he actually provided comfort.

Ron wouldn't believe it.

"You're awake!"

Charlie jumped at the excited whisper and turned around. Harry was beaming at her and he hastily elbowed Ron in the side. The redhead groaned and opened his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's just past six but never mind the time! Charlie is awake!" Harry leaned over and hugged his sister tightly. "Are you alright?"

Charlie hugged him back and grinned wearily. "That depends. What exactly happened to me?"

"You fell off your broomstick when those awful Dementors entered the pitch." Hermione answered sleepily as she awoke and went to sit at the end of Charlie's bed. "Harry tried to pull you onto his broom to safety."

"I didn't do such a great job. Good thing Dumbledore was there. He saved you and got rid of the Dementors. He was furious!"

"It was scary," Ron agreed. "We all thought you were dead!"

Hermione nodded. "We were terrified!"

"Well, I'm fine. The Dementors really got to me this time..." Charlie sighed. "I heard my mother's dying screams."

Hermione gasped and grabbed onto her hand. Harry frowned and stared at his hands. "I suppose that's why the Dementors affect you so much and not me...I wasn't there when our parents died. Uncle Remus must have taken me in before that happened."

"It's not a pleasant thing to hear," Charlie muttered. "I broke down in tears last night."

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Ron asked. "We wouldn't have minded."

"Actually...you're not going to believe this. Professor Snape came in just as I started crying and comforted me. I sobbed into his robes and everything. I think he must of knew my mum...he seemed just as distraught as I was when I told him. But he actually managed to control himself..."

"Interesting..." Hermione mused.

Ron gaped at her. "Seriously? The bat in the dungeons? Professor Severus Snape? Are you sure?"

Charlie laughed. "Positive. I'm just glad I don't have him breathing down my neck anymore."

"He was very nice to us on the pitch." Hermione remembered. "Ron and I went into shock and Professor Snape got us here in time for a Pepper Up Potion so we wouldn't catch our death."

"Well...I suppose I could give him a chance." Ron muttered reluctantly.

Harry pursed his lips. "Oh, alright. But if he makes one more crack on Uncle Remus I'm gonna lose it."

A strange expression crossed Hermione's face at this and eyed Charlie. The raven-haired girl knew that her bushy-haired friend would want to talk to her in private later on. Nodding subtly at her, Charlie asked, "What happened to my broomstick?"

"Oh..." Ron gulped and nervously glanced at Harry. "Well...it blew away in the wind and Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout went to retrieve it."

"And?" Charlie prompted, feeling uneasy.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck as Hermione removed a purple satchel from underneath his chair. "It crashed into the Whomping Willow...and we all know how the Whomping Willow reacts to getting hit."

Hermione upturned the bag and dozens of splintered pieces of wood fell into Charlie's lap. "We're really sorry!"

Charlie stared in dismay at her beloved Nimbus. She picked up a piece and rubbed it between her fingers. "Let us all take a moment to remember the brilliant Nimbus 2000. May he be flying in the skies elsewhere."

"Farewell," four voices said forlornly.

...

Madame Pomfrey finally allowed Charlie to leave at the end of the weekend. Troubled by the Dementors and the fact she had seen the Grim again (she had decided against telling her friends this) she wondered if she truly had Death stalking her.

Her broken Nimbus was at the bottom of her trunk. Hermione didn't scoff at her for keeping the pieces and instead told her how Cedric Diggory wanted a rematch because of what happened. Charlie encountered the Hufflepuff in the Great Hall and he expressed his concern for her health and regret for not having that rematch. Charlie shook his hand and promised that he really did deserve the win.

"I'm sorry to hear about your broomstick," Scarlet began as she sat down next to her. "But our next match is just after Christmas. I've booked some practice times and you can use the school brooms, but it would be best if you bought a new one."

"I'll get on it." Charlie agreed. An image of the Firebolt immediately popped into her mind but she quickly dismissed the idea. A Firebolt was expensive and she still had four years left at Hogwarts.

Hermione leaned over and prodded Charlie in the shoulder. "I need to talk to you!"

The two girls got up and left the Hall. They walked all the way to Ravenclaw Tower. As the door swung open Crookshanks tried to dart past. Charlie caught him and shook her head as she dragged him up the spiral stairs. "Hermione, there is something weird about this cat."

"Nonsense!" Hermione exclaimed. "He just wants to get out. But since Ron is all paranoid I have to keep him cooped up in here."

Charlie plopped down in one of the plush blue chairs. "What's on your mind?"

"Have you finished the werewolf essay Professor Snape assigned us?" Hermione questioned.

"I haven't started it yet...I suppose I ought to get on that."

"Well...do you suppose you could start it now?"

Charlie stared at Hermione in surprise. "Why?"

"Please?" Hermione pleaded. "I'll tell you after you finish it!"

Completely curious, Charlie obediently retrieved some parchment, her quill and her textbook. For an hour she wrote and researched until coming to the conclusion of her essay. It had been halfway through when she cottoned on to what Hermione might be thinking. "Er...if you were wondering if anyone else thought Remus is a werewolf, then yes, there is."

"I was wondering if it was just me!" Hermione let out a huff. "Do you think anyone else knows?"

"Probably not, or else they would have said something. That was pretty clever of Professor Snape to assign an essay on werewolves on the day Remus was ill from his transformation." Charlie tucked her completed essay into her bag. "What do we do now?"

"It's obvious Harry knows. You even told us that his Boggart formed into a werewolf. Should we tell Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Perhaps not. You know Ron, he gets paranoid easily. We'll just keep it between ourselves. Come on, we're going to be late for DADA. I wonder if Remus will be well enough to teach."

...

Remus was indeed back. The students complained about the essay on werewolves and he said that they didn't need to hand it in. After an interesting lesson on Hinkypunks everyone filed out when the bell rang. "Charlotte, I'd like a word with you."

Charlie waved Ron and Hermione ahead. "Yes Professor?"

"I heard about your broomstick. I'm truly sorry about that." Remus started packing some of his supplies away.

"Yeah. Smashed to bits by the Whomping Willow."

"That tree was planted when I came to Hogwarts. We used to have great fun in trying to see who could get the closest to it. But Dumbledore quickly stopped that game when someone almost lost an eye."

Charlie laughed. "The Whomping Willow hates to be bothered."

"Are you alright?" Remus questioned, looking up and peering intently at her.

"Well, the broomstick is a heavy loss. But if you mean falling off my broom, then I'm as fine as fine can get." Charlie shrugged. "I just hate that the Dementors affect me so much."

"You've been through terrible horrors, Charlotte. Dementors exploit those horrors and suck out every trace of happiness and leave a dark, cold hole in your chest. They're foul creatures that lurk in filthy, dark corners and destroy anything peaceful and contentment. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Charlotte."

Remus' face was flushed with anger and Charlie blinked. "You're right. But...see, the thing is, when they come too close I can hear Voldemort murdering my mother."

Remus jerked a bit and Charlie could not see his expression. After a moment he lifted his head up and sighed heavily. "Terrible horrors, Charlotte. I am sorry for what you have been going through."

"I just wish there was a way to defend myself against them." A sudden memory of the train ride to Hogwarts and her first glimpse of a Dementor popped into her mind. "Wait a moment! Professor, you got rid of the Dementor on the train, didn't you?"

"I made it back off," Remus corrected. "It takes a strong Anti-Dementor spell to get rid of them."

"Can you teach me these defenses?" Charlie asked hopefully.

Remus hesitated before nodding slowly. "Yes, I suppose I could. But you'll have to wait until after the holidays. I have quite a lot of work to do."

"Thank you!" Charlie exclaimed and rushed from the classroom, a bit more optimistic about the next time she would encounter the Dementors.

...

"Gorgeous, as always." Charlie sighed as she stared fondly at the glittering lights and Christmas trees. The grounds outside were coated in a thick white blanket and everyone was using their precious time to build snowmen or have snowball fights. The Golden Quartet had just come inside from the frigid cold to get started on their holiday homework.

"Wicked!" Ron grinned. His cheeks were bright red and matched his hair.

Hermione and Harry echoed their exclamations of awe. You could never get tired of Hogwarts at Christmas time. "Dobby!"

The Houself immediately popped into view. Hermione was always amazed that only the Houselves had the power to Apparate within Hogwarts, but she understood that Houselves had very different (and even stronger) magic than witches and wizards. "Hello, Miss Potter!" Dobby said gleefully. "Dobby hasn't seen mistress or friends in ages!"

Charlie's lips twitched, tempted to point out that she and the others had visited him in the kitchens a few weeks ago. Dumbledore had happily agreed to allow Dobby to work in the kitchens while Charlie was at Hogwarts. Dobby refused pay, as he had said before, 'Working for Miss Potter is worth all the Galleons in the world!'

Charlie adored Dobby. She would get him all the socks his heart wanted for Christmas.

"May we have some hot chocolate please?" Charlie asked.

Dobby popped away and reappeared almost as quick, holding a tray of four mugs overflowing with marshmallows and whipped cream. "Thanks, Dobby!" Ron snatched a mug off the tray and smiled happily.

"You're very kind," Hermione added as she and Harry took their mugs.

Dobby beamed. "Dobby is a very lucky Houself! Mistress and friends are so kind to Dobby..."

Charlie had tried to convince Dobby to just call her Charlie, but the Houself seemed stuck in some old habits. "You deserve to be treated kindly, Dobby." Hermione responded, cheeks growing pink at the thought of the awful way most elves were treated.

"We're off to do our homework. I'll see you later, Dobby." Charlie grinned at him and the four set off, drinking their hot chocolate as fast as they could so Madame Pince would not toss them out of her precious library for bringing liquid so close to her books.

"Hermione, can you help me with my Potions essay?" Ron asked.

"Of course! What are you having trouble with?"

"I don't really understand the theory Snape-sorry, Professor Snape-was talking about last class."

The four got their books and gathered at their usual table in the library. Hermione assisted Ron while Harry and Charlie were working on their Herbology. "I've been meaning to ask you Harry; what did you feel when I fell off my broomstick?"

Harry shuddered. "I felt a huge jolt of fear and a sudden coldness. I turned around to see what the matter was and found you tilting off your broom."

"You know," Hermione said suddenly. "The two of you should work on your telepathy!"

Charlie screwed her face up. "Gee, I don't know. It can't be that simple..."

"I'll see if I can find a book!" Hermione jumped and hurried for the stacks. Ron snorted as he finished up his essay.

"One of these days she's going to discover that not all answers lie within the library."

"I so don't want to be around when that happens," Charlie muttered.

...

It was a few days before Christmas and another Hogsmeade visit was scheduled. Charlie gave Hermione her Christmas list and some money. Harry offered to stay behind but she shooed him ahead. Sighing she shuffled down the corridors, relieved that she had some space from the teachers that happened to always be around.

"I really wish I was in Hogsmeade right now..." Charlie said wistfully.

"Why not?"

Charlie yelped in surprise when the Weasley twins emerged from behind a statue. "Don't scare me like that! How come you're not at Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you an early Christmas present." Fred said cheerfully. George removed an old piece of parchment from underneath his cloak and held it out. Charlie scratched her head and stared at it.

"Um...what is it?"

"The secret to our success. We've memorized it inside and out, so we're giving it to you! Happy Christmas!" George smiled.

Deciding to play along, Charlie took the parchment. "What do I do?"

"Just touch your wand to the parchment and say, '_**I solemly swear I am up to no good.**__'"_

Charlie obeyed and was astounded when inky black lines curled over the parchment, expanding until it showed a full map of Hogwarts, complete with secret passages and dots that represented where everyone in the castle was, including the teachers. "Wow! Where did you get this?"

"Filch confiscated it a while ago and when Fred and I were in there in our first year, we got curious at the drawer marked _Highly Dangerous _and caused a distraction. We found this and snatched it." George laughed. "It's taught us more than any teacher in this school has."

"Who are the Marauders?" Charlie asked, gesturing towards the green ink at the top of the map that displayed the names of the creators. Although _**Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs**_weren't easy names to decode.

"We don't know." Fred sighed. "I wish we could have met them, though. This map is brilliant!"

"Anyway, there are seven passages in total that lead to Hogsmeade. These four are the ones Filch knows about, and this one is caved in. I wouldn't use this one; the Whomping Willow is planted directly over it. But this leads into the cellar of Honeydukes." George explained.

"Make sure you wipe the map when you're finished with it. Just tap it with your wand and say 'mischief managed'." Fred advised.

"So...you're Christmas present to a Ravenclaw is a map to help her break the rules." Charlie clarified.

"We're hoping to corrupt you. Is it working?" Fred asked hopefully.

Charlie stared at the map for a moment. The desire to go to Hogsmeade with her friends was strong. But she remembered that Sirius Black was after her and this map might have come from questionable sources. But then, Fred and George have used it for years and nothing happened to them. She could sneak past the Dementors and stay under her Cloak.

"Yes, it has," she muttered and ignored their gleeful faces. "I'll see you in Honeydukes."

...

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Charlie stood in front of the one-eyed witch statue and stared at the map. Her Cloak was wrapped tightly around her so that no part was visible. Her tiny figure on the map was tapping the witch with her wand and speaking the password. "Very clever map, though."

Charlie copied the actions of the tiny figure of her on the map and watched in awe as the hump moved aside, allowing a thin person to slip inside. "Looks like I'll have to control my sweet intake."

She climbed into the hole and dropped down. She slid down some sort of slide and hit the ground. Charlie climbed to her feet and whispered, "_Lumos!"_

Her wand tip lit up and Charlie stared down the narrow earthy passage. She wiped the map clean and slipped it back in her robes before starting her trek. It seemed to take forever before she finally stumbled out of the trap door, panting heavily and her feet aching. "Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Charlie replaced the trapdoor and froze when the door leading to the cellar opened. Charlie pressed the Cloak tighter around her and carefully climbed the stairs, squeezing around the man that just entered and ducked into Honeydukes.

Sugary smells greeted her nose and her eyes roamed the various sweets cluttering the shelves. The store was packed with Hogwarts students and Charlie inched around them all. She was amazed by the amount of candy she saw and couldn't wait to buy some.

Spotting the twins among the Ice Mice, she took off her Cloak and snuck up behind them. "Boo!"

Fred and George jumped and spun around. Fred grinned broadly. "You made it!"

"Why didn't you tell me that passage is a wretch to walk through?" Charlie complained.

"Some pain must be endured for the greater things." George replied. "Isn't it worth it?"

"At the moment, yes. Thank you for the map." Charlie smiled gratefully. "I appreciate it."

"No problem at all! My brother is over there with Hermione and Harry, in case you missed them." Fred pointed to the other side of the store where her friends were browsing the shelves. Charlie tucked her Cloak inside her robes and moved behind them.

"What should we get Charlie?" Hermione asked.

"How about one of those blood-flavoured lollipops?" Ron suggested.

"Gross!" Charlie exclaimed.

Her friends whirled around and gasped when they saw her. "What are you doing here?" Hermione cried.

Charlie explained to them about the Marauders Map and that the twins gave it to her. Ron scowled. "How come they never told me about it? Honestly!"

"You shouldn't be here!" Hermione wailed. "And you should hand that map in to Professor Flitwick! What if Sirius Black is using one of the passages to get into the school?"

"I doubt it. Four of them Filch knows about, one of them is caved in and another one is practically guarded by the Whomping Willow and as for the one I just used..."

Ron pointed to a sign hanging on the door, informing those who read it that Dementors patrolled the village past nightfall. "We're in the clear, Hermione!"

"Come on, Hermione." Harry grinned. "Black wouldn't even think of attacking here. There are far too many people-even for him!"

Hermione sighed and they all resumed loading their bags with sweets. Charlie bought her Christmas presents from a few other shops (including Zonko's) and when they were all but frozen from the chilly wind they entered the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Harry asked as they settled into a booth near the back.

"I love it here." Charlie grinned and Ron came back with four tankards of frothy Butterbeer. They drank happily and discussed who they thought would win the Quidditch Cup. The door opened a breeze brushed Charlie's hair. She turned around and nearly choked.

Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall and Cornelius Fudge entered the Three Broomsticks in a flurry of snow-and they were all heading in their direction.

"Evasive manoeuvre!" Charlie hissed and knew she would not have enough time to conceal herself with her Cloak. Hermione hastily levitated a large tree so it hid them from view and they all let out a collective sigh of relief when the adults walked right past them and settled into the booth behind them.

"Good thinking," Harry whispered.

Hermione pressed a finger to her lips.

"Minister Fudge, it's good to see you." A woman's voice said.

"Hello, Rosmerta. Why don't you join us?" Fudge invited.

"I believe I will." Rosmerta answered and she joined the group. "What brings you here?"

"Sirius Black, of course. I'm sure you heard what happened at Hogwarts on Halloween and I'm certain he's still in the area."

Hermione shot Charlie a frightened glance.

"I can hardly believe Sirius Black would have ever gone to the Dark side." Rosmerta sighed. "I remember when he was a boy at Hogwarts. He was ever so charming and sweet. A bit mischievous maybe, but I never would have thought he would murder thirteen people!"

"Black's capable of terrible things, and some he was that were worse than that." Fudge said gravely.

"Like what?" Rosmerta asked.

"Do you remember who Sirius' best friend was?" McGonagall questioned softly.

"Of course I do! I used to have them in here all the time. They made me laugh, Sirius Black and James Potter."

Charlie pressed her fingers against her mouth to keep herself from shrieking. Already she had a feeling she would not like where this story would go.

"Their gang was known for wrecking havoc around the castle," Flitwick recalled. "Black and Potter were the ringleaders, of course. The two of them were inseparable."

"They trusted their lives to each other." McGonagall said bitterly. "Sirius was the best mad when James married Lily and he was named Charlotte's godfather. She doesn't know this of course; the poor dear would be traumatized."

"I would be too if my godfather was in league with You-Know-Who." Rosmerta muttered.

"Not just that, dear." Fudge sighed. "Dumbledore knew You-Know-Who was going after the Potters. The man seemed to know exactly where you-Know-Who would strike and when, but sometimes we never acted quickly enough. Anyway, Dumbledore warned the Potters and suggested they use the Fidelius Charm."

"**How does that work?"** Rosmerta asked curiously.

"The Fidelius Charm is a complex and powerful Charm that takes a specific piece of information (which would be the secret) and implants it into a being's soul. The one whose soul houses the secret is known as the Secret-Keeper. The only way anyone could know where the Potters would be hiding was if the Secret-Keeper himself divulged it to You-Know-Who. You cannot gain the information any other way." Flitwick explained.

"Of course, James chose Sirius to be their Secret-Keeper." McGonagall said. "But Dumbledore was worried about this. He offered to be the Secret-Keeper instead but James trusted Sirius more than anyone else."

"Dumbledore knew Black would betray them?" Rosmerta asked in awe.

"The man knew something was wrong. He suspected someone close to James was revealing information to You-Know-Who. And he was right. Barely a week after the charm was put into place did Black betray the location to You-Know-Who and the Potters were attacked. But as we all know, little Charlotte Potter defeated him and Black went into a rage. We're all very lucky Hagrid got to Charlotte before he did."

"**Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" **Hagrid roared. "He actually tried teh take Charlie away! Offered teh take 'er in! I never knew he was their Secret-Keeper an' he was in a right state, white an' shakin'. I comforted him! An' all tha' time he was tryin' teh find a way teh kill Charlie!"

"Calm down, Hagrid!" McGonagall ordered. "None of us could have known what Black would do."

"I never knew why he gave up his beloved motorbike that nigh'. Now I know it was 'cause the bike was too easy to trace!" Hagrid slammed his fist onto the table.

"Well, it's a good thing the Ministry caught up with Black the next day." Rosmerta said optimistically.

"Yes, but it's a shame we didn't get there in time." Fudge sighed. "Peter Pettigrew got there first. He was a part of Potter's gang. He followed them around like a little puppy. He adored James and Sirius. He must have been devastated when he found out Black betrayed Lily and James. He cornered him in the public square and shouted for everyone to hear that he betrayed Lily and James."

"Foolish boy!" McGonagall said thickly. "He was hopeless at dueling. I always pushed him so hard..."

"He died a hero death," Fudge said kindly. "Of course, he did this all in front of Muggles and we had to wipe the memories of those who survived. He went for his wand but Black beat him to it...the only thing left of Peter was his finger."

"Will Black try to rejoin his master?" Rosmerta questioned.

"I believe that's his eventual plan. But we hope to catch him long before that happens. I'm afraid I must be going; I have dinner plans with the Headmaster."

Fudge and the others got up and left the Three Broomsticks and Rosmerta resumed her work. Charlie sat stock-still, green eyes wide and face pale.

"Are...are you okay?" Hermione asked anxiously. Harry reached out and took her hand, his face a bit white as well.

After a moment of silence, Charlie spoke.

"That lousy-"Here she said something that made Hermione gasp and even Ron cringe,"-killed my parents."

**I'm playing with the idea of sending Ron, Hermione and Charlie to Snape Manor for the holidays. Does that sound alright?**


	8. More Bad News

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**More Bad News**

Charlie didn't stick around after the teachers had left. She wrapped the Cloak tightly around her and took off, ignoring her friends pleads to come back. Her mind twisted and turned and she had no idea how she managed to make it back into the castle. Charlie rushed to the Ravenclaw Common Room and into her dorm.

"I know it's in here somewhere..." Charlie muttered as she dug around in her trunk. She finally found the photo album Hagrid had given her in her first year and started flipping frantically through it. Her fingers froze on the page that contained her parents wedding photos.

There he was. His face was fuller and not so frightening when he was laughing. The long tangled hair was much shorter, but there was no denying that the man standing beside her father was Sirius Black.

Charlie passed a hand through her black hair and took a deep breath. It hurt that the man her father called his best friend had betrayed them so easily. The fact that he was her godfather made her shake. She wondered why Sirius had crossed over to Voldemort's side to begin with and why no one had told her this.

Hermione came into their dorm moments later to see Charlie sitting on her bed like a frozen statue. She sat carefully beside her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"No," she whispered. Charlie pushed the album towards her and Hermione peered at the picture she indicated.

"Oh, Charlie!" Hermione breathed. "I know this is absolutely awful-"

"It's horrible!" Charlie snapped. "He was their best friend and he left them to be killed! He killed my father, my mother, that poor Peter fellow and he was going to kill me! Can you imagine what he would have done to me if Hagrid had let him hold me? Black probably would have killed Hagrid and dumped me in a river! And he's my godfather!"

"He's cruel and nasty and despicable!" Hermione agreed. "But please don't go after him!"

Charlie pursed her lips, not wanting to agree that she had been thinking about it. Sirius was obviously close to the castle...all she had to do was be the bait. He deserved to be tortured for what he had done. "Hermione, do you know what my life could have been like if he hadn't betrayed my parents? I wouldn't have to have lived with the Dursleys, who make my life a living hell. I would have learned about the wizarding world way before I was eleven. I wouldn't hear Voldemort murdering my parents every time the Dementors come near. And is Black tortured by these same nightmares? No. From the looks of it, he isn't even affected by the Dementors."

Hermione sighed. "Yes, and I know this will sound awful, but if your parents hadn't died, Voldemort would still be around."

"We don't know that for sure." Charlie protested.

"You were the one who defeated him. If Black had kept your secret, Voldemort would have slaughtered so many people in his search. You would hardly be able to leave your house."

Charlie blinked back tears. "But it's not fair! My parents died and Voldemort is still going to come back. What did they die for?"

"You," Hermione whispered softly. "You said that your mother's love is one of your greatest protections. She died in your place so that you could have a chance at life. A chance to do well and live. The first ten years may have been awful, but look where you are now. You have given people hope for thirteen years. To go off and look for Black would be foolish and undo everything your parents and Dumbledore have done for you."

The two were silent for a moment. "He's the reason Harry was taken away from me."

"Do you think it was easy for your parents to give up their own child for protection? To know that no matter where you went Voldemort would always be on your trail? Do you think they enjoyed fretting about the safety off Harry and be in constant danger? They put everything on the line to keep the two of you safe. You may have been without Harry for the majority of your childhood, but you have the rest of your life to make for ten years."

Charlie sighed. She was still hurt and angry, but that was to be expected. "You're right...you always are."

Hermione smiled in relief. "I know it will be difficult, but you can always talk to us if you feel upset. Please try not to berate Hagrid for not telling you. He and everyone else have their reasons."

"Just like they had their reasons for not telling Harry and I that we're siblings." Charlie grumbled. "You know, I'm starting to hate their reasons."

...

"You look terrible, mate."

"Not as bad as Harry does!" Charlie retorted. The Golden Quartet were in the library doing more homework. Harry frowned up at her, dark circles under his eyes. "Seriously, I'm the only one with a good excuse to be tossing and turning through the night. What's wrong with you?"

"Well...I have something to tell you." Harry set aside his quill and rubbed his tired eyes. "You know how Sirius Black was our father's best friend?"

Charlie nodded. "Kind of hard to forget that."

"Uncle Remus said he was a close friend to my parents. And since my parents are your parents too, that means-"

"Remus was close friends with Sirius Black as well!" Hermione finished with wide eyes. "That explains why Professor Snape is so suspicious of Remus and why he seems to loathe him. Didn't you say Professor Snape hated you to begin with because he hated your father?"

Charlie groaned. "Yeah. I'm guessing all four of them were rivals with Professor Snape. This must be hard for Remus. His former friend trying to kill me and responsible for the death of his other friends."

"He's been keeping a careful eye on me," Harry muttered. "I guess he's worried that maybe Sirius will try to kill the both of us."

"Is it just me, or do we always know more than we're supposed to?" Ron questioned.

...

Charlie, Ron and Hermione were off to visit Hagrid that afternoon. They trekked through the fluffy snow towards the hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Now, don't go yelling at Hagrid for keeping secrets-"Hermione began.

"Aw, she already promised she wouldn't." Ron interrupted. "Really, it's Harry you have to worry about. He'll probably blab about how eavesdropped at the Three Broomsticks once Remus even looks at him."

Remus had taken Harry home early for the Christmas holidays. Harry was looking forward to private time with his uncle, although nervous that he would give himself away.

"You don't give him enough credit," Charlie chided. "Besides, it's not like Harry can avoid Remus. That just seems even more suspicious."

They made it to the hut and Hermione rapped on the door. Fang barked loudly and the door creaked open. Hagrid took one look at them before bursting into tears.

Ron and Charlie supported Hagrid as he collapsed against them and lugged him into the hut. Hermione caught Fang before he made it outside and dragged him in, shutting the door behind her. "What's wrong?" Hermione cried.

Hagrid gestured towards the letter resting on the table. Ron picked it up and read aloud as Charlie started to prepare a cup of tea.

"_**Dear Mr Hagrid,**_

_**Further to our inquiry into the attack by a Hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident. However, we must register our concern about the Hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr Lucius Malfoy-**_"

Ron halted and let out a cry of shock. "WHAT? What's he complaining for? Draco didn't even get touched by the Hippogriff!"

"Buckbeak," Hermione reminded Ron. "And Lucius can complain as a concerned parent. Finish the letter."

"_**-and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20**__**th**__**, and we ask you to present yourself and your Hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the Hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.**__"_

Charlie peered out the window and frowned sadly at Buckbeak, who was indeed tied up near the pumpkin patch. "Don't worry Hagrid, we'll help you out."

"Bu' Lucius Malfoy has the Committee wrapped 'round 'is fin'er!" Hagrid wailed. "Buckbeak doesn't stand a chance!" He sliced a finger across his throat and wailed louder. Charlie handed him a cup of tea.

"You still have the hearing. Ron will probably be called in, since he was the student attacked-"

"And I'll defend you, Hagrid!" Ron promised.

"I'm sure there are some cases on Hippogriff's I can look up in the library!" Hermione exclaimed. "We can prepare notes and everything for you, Hagrid."

Hagrid settled down and wiped his red-rimmed eyes. "Thank yeh...can' go teh pieces now. It's jus' with Sirius Black roamin' round the castle, Buckbeak **an' no one liken' me classes-**"

"We like them very much!" Hermione quickly lied.

"Yes, I do enjoy the Flobberworms," Ron agreed. "How are they?"

"Dead, I'm afraid." Hagrid said forlornly.

Charlie rolled her eyes as Ron struggled to hold back a laugh and elbowed him in the ribs. Hagrid continued on, not having seen Ron's amusement. "An' those Dementors...have teh walk pass 'em whenever I wan' a drink from the Three Broomsticks. 'S jus' like bein' in Azkaban again..."

Charlie, Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. Hagrid had been sent to Azkaban for a short time in their second year and hadn't talked about it. "Is it awful there, Hagrid?" Hermione finally asked.

"Terrible. 'S dark and yeh live yer wors' memories over an' over again. Yeh star' teh go mad after a while...forge' who yeh are and star' teh lose the will teh live. The ruddy Dementors suck ou' all the happiness. They weren't keen on lettin' me go... I've bin thinkin' 'bout jus' lettin' Buckbeak go. Bu' I don' want teh go to Azkaban again. Never again..."

...

"How is everyone doing?" Albus asked cheerfully as he entered the staffroom. Everyone was gathered around the wooden table and he paused. There were only two pieces of parchment on the table; both of them very short and bearing only a few names.

"Everyone has chosen to go home this year." Pomona informed him. "The spook with the Fat Lady really frightened them."

"I don't blame them." Minerva sighed. "They probably figure it's best being at home than here. And with Sir Cadogan as their guard to the Tower they probably want a vacation away from him. He's completely mad! When will the Fat Lady return?"

"Minerva, my dear, if you narrowly avoided being slashes to bits you would be reluctant to return as well." Albus said tiredly. With the Dementors and keeping an eye on Charlotte, he was getting much less sleep than normal. "Who are the few brave students that are staying?"

"Do you really need to ask that?" Severus drawled.

"Only three students signed up to stay; Charlotte, Ronald and Hermione." Filius said. "Harry would have stayed if Remus hadn't whisked him off to his own home."

Albus knew Remus had made sure his home was always surrounded by protection spells and was not worried for the safety of Harry. He was, however, concerned for the three students that would be alone in the large castle. Black had already tried to break into Gryffindor Tower once, and Albus was not at all comforted by the fact that Ronald would be alone in the Tower during the night. What if Black tried again, believing that Charlotte was in Gryffindor and selected the wrong dormitory?

And what if Black did catch on that Charlotte was in Ravenclaw? Getting into the Common Room didn't require a password but a sharp intellect; something Sirius had proven he possessed.

The majority of the teachers had left as well...Minerva would soon leave to visit her family and Pomona would finally meet her brother-in-law (this had taken much convincing on the side of her daughter).

Minerva had known Albus for many years, and knew what was troubling him. "I can stay behind," she said firmly. "Addison won't mind if I stay at Hogwarts this year. I'll stay in the Tower with Weasley and Granger and Potter can stay in the girls dormitory if they'd like-"

"Or I could stay with the girls and make sure nothing happens." Filius offered.

"No." Albus said. "You both have families that are eager to see you and I won't keep you from that. Severus...may I please have a word with you?"

The other Heads of House caught on and quickly filed out. Severus eyed Albus warily before taking a seat in one of the squashy chairs. "Yes, Albus?"

"I know this is a lot to ask of you...but since you were going to go to Spinner's End for Christmas this year-"

"No."

"I haven't even finished my sentence!"

"You want to know if I can take the insufferable brats with me." Severus crossed his arms. "I will not have a Gryffindor running rampant in my house. He'll probably call up his troublesome brothers and then my house will burn down. Then what, Albus?"

"...you're being a bit dramatic, Severus."

"Why can't you keep watch over them? Better yet, why don't I stay here and assign them all a two week detention?"

"This is a large castle, and I have my own jobs to do. Charlotte knows Sirius Black is after her-"

"Who told her?" Severus asked softly.

"Filius decided it was the right thing to do, but it turns out she had already known beforehand. She overheard Arthur telling Molly." Albus explained. "I can't keep watch over them every single minute-"

"And you're worried they'll do something stupid and go after him." Severus finished. He could just imagine the foolish Weasley persuading his two female friends to be heroes and capture the nasty Black. "They'll get themselves killed!"

"I didn't know you cared."

Severus flushed; unaware he had said that out loud. "I don't. But Lily would never forgive me if I allowed her daughter to run off and get killed."

Albus smiled softly. "I'm sure. Now, you better go tell them the news. Christmas is a few days away."

...

Ron, Charlie and Hermione were going through as many books on magical creature hearings as they could. Scribbled notes were being taken and Ron was writing his speech. The three were so engrossed in their work they did not notice as Snape entered the library and watched them silently.

The quiet atmosphere of the library was broken as Crookshanks suddenly darted in, chasing Scabbers. Ron let out a cry and dove out of his seat, grabbing Scabbers just as Crookshanks took a swipe at him. "OW!"

Hermione jumped up and grabbed her large ginger cat, hauling him away. "No, Crookshanks!"

Ron scrambled up and cradled Scabbers to his chest. His hands were covered in cat scratches and he was glowering at Hermione. "I thought you were keeping that monster locked up!"

"Crookshanks can't stay in the Common Room forever!" Hermione protested. "He needs to be let out. I thought you had Scabbers on you!"

"I left him in my Common Room. Someone must have accidently let him out." Ron stared at his rat before thrusting him out for Hermione to examine. "Look at him! He's gotten skinnier and his fur is falling out! Its stress, I tell you! You need to keep your cat away from him!"

Snape decided to take this moment to step before Irma came to see who dared start a commotion in her beloved library. "Mr. Weasley, cats chase mice. It's what they do. You cannot blame Miss Granger for what a cat's nature is."

The three jumped and stared at him in surprise. Ron turned red and muttered, "Yes, sir."

"Are you three aware that you are the only students left in the castle?" Snape inquired.

"We were wondering where everyone was..." Charlie mused.

"Faulty observation aside, Professor Dumbledore has ordered me to take you three to Spinner's End for the Christmas holidays so you don't cause any trouble." Severus informed them.

"Spinner's End?" Hermione asked curiously.

"My Muggle home, Miss Granger."

Ron's eyes widened and he gaped. Snape ignored this and ordered,"You should be packed and in my office in an hour. Don't be late."

He swept out of the library and Ron found his voice. "No way! There's no way my parents will agree to this-"

"It's obvious they already have or else you would have been exempted from that conversation," Hermione said. "Besides, I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're imagining it to be."

Ron looked doubtful but it seemed Hermione and Charlie were willing to go with the dungeon bat. "Alright, but I'm taking Scabbers with me."

Hermione pressed her lips together and nodded stiffly. She carried Crookshanks away and Charlie frowned at Ron.

"It's not her fault you know."

"Well, she bought that cat, so I fault her for that."

...

Snape eyed the three as they entered his office, dragging trunks behind them. "I assume you all know how to use Floo powder."

They nodded and approached the fire place. Ron went first and called, "Spinner's End!"

He was gone in a swirl of green flames. Hermione went next and then Charlie. She shot him a quick grin before disappearing. Snape took a deep breath and prepared to go after her. "This ought to be interesting."

**What would you like to see at Spinner's End? Any particular moments?**


	9. Christmas at Spinner's End

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Christmas at Spinner's End**

Ron stared in utter bafflement at the Potions professor's home. It was nothing like he imagined it to be. Although, to be fair, he basically expected the man to live in a dungeon-style abode. The living room that they had toppled into was actually pretty...cosy.

"You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." Hermione chided. She was not as surprised by the black leather couch, blood red curtains and rugs or dark wooden tables and dressers. Various pictures in golden frames depicted a woman Hermione could only guess was his mother.

Ron snapped his mouth shut as Charlie came rolling onto the red rug by the brick fireplace. "I hate Floo travel..." she complained as she got to her feet.

Snape emerged out of the emerald flames next. He stood stiff in front of the three children, who quickly went silent. "Before I show you to your rooms, I am going to make a few things very clear. You will _not _go into my personal quarters, you will _not _go into my private lab and you will _not _leave Spinner's End without informing me first. If any of these rules are broken then the consequences will be dire. Understood?"

The ginger gulped nervously and quickly nodded. He wasn't too keen on the idea of staying at the dungeon bat's home, but he didn't want to wimp out and Floo home.

Snape directed them down the dimly lit hallways and pointed Ron to the first guest room. He quickly dragged his trunk behind him and entered, shutting the door firmly behind him and collapsing on the bed. He could hear Charlie and Hermione make their way down the hardwood floor to the other end of the hall.

Ron studied the room he would be occupying for a week or so. Like the rest of the house, it followed the colour scheme of red, gray and black. His sheets and pillows were gray and the bed hangings were a deep red colour. The rug was gray and the walls were black. The furniture was painted black wood. The redhead would admit it wasn't _that _bad.

Footsteps hurried towards his door and Ron panicked. He had absolutely no idea what other rules applied to living with Snape and hastily kicked his shoes off. His mother could care less if they had shoes on their beds, but if they made a mess on their sheets they had to clean them up. Was it the same deal for Snape?

Charlie pushed the door open and peered inside. "Are you still alive?" She teased as she and Hermione entered the room.

Ron let out a sigh of relief. "Barely. I don't think I'll be able to survive."

"You need to relax. Just follow his rules and you'll be fine."

"But what about shoes on the bed, or elbows on the table?" Ron persisted. "He didn't elaborate enough!"

"Oh, big word." Hermione grinned when Ron glared at her.

Charlie laughed. "Professor Snape told us we could go outside until dinner time. Do you want to come with us?"

Ron pursed his lips. "Sure, but what's for dinner? Bat wings and blood?"

He got cuffed across the head twice.

...

The three played in the snow well until dusk. They built snowmen, had a snowball fight and built a snow fort. When Snape came to collect them they were dripping wet and shivering. "You all look like something the cat dragged in." He flicked his wand and all three kids felt like they were being bathed in warmth. "Put your wet clothes by the fire and join me in the kitchen."

Ron hung up his coat and mittens by the fire and joined his friends in the dining room. He was mildly surprised to see a feast of spaghetti waiting for him and his friends. He sat down and waited until Snape started piling food onto his plate.

"You look like something's going to jump out a bite you at any moment," Hermione whispered to him as she plucked a piece of garlic bread off of a plate.

Ron ignored her and started to eat. It was _really _good.

"We can't take him anywhere..." Charlie muttered as Ron continued to behave in the same manner as he did at Hogwarts meals-he shovelled as much food into his mouth as he possible could.

"Chew, Ronald!" Hermione hissed. "I don't know the Heimlich manoeuvre yet!"

Snape was bemused, to say the least. The Weasley boys were well known for eating more than anyone else and Ronald was no different.

"Very good, sir." Ron said when he had finished.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I'm not in your House, or else I would never get to eat."

...

It was midnight when Charlie finally decided that she wasn't going to get any sleep. Irritated, she climbed out of bed and shuffled down the hardwood floors and into the kitchen. The cupboards were made of dark wood, and even the fridge was black. Charlie shook her head and poured herself a glass of milk and sat down on one of the wooden stools at the kitchen bar.

"Miss Potter, may I ask why you are roaming my house instead of being in bed where you belong?" Snape drawled as he entered the kitchen, wearing his usual black robes.

Charlie shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. I keep thinking a vampire will jump out of my closet."

"Keep that cheek up and I'll take twenty points away from Ravenclaw when we get back to the castle," he threatened as he made himself a cup of tea.

"Sorry, sir." She sipped her milk. "I keep thinking about those Dementors, that's all."

"Nasty and foul creatures, and we're far away from them." Snape pointed out. "I hear Lupin is even going to give you lessons on how to defend yourself against them."

"Yeah. I'm hoping they'll help."Charlie shrugged. Wanting to divert the topic from the Dementors, she brought up something she had been wondering about since they had arrived. "Sir, you know the picture hanging on the mantel? The one with the red-haired girl that's about my age?"

Snape paused and turned to stare at her. "Yes, I know the one."

"She looks awfully familiar...and I was wondering if she was my mother when she was thirteen."

"You're a sharp child. It is." Snape shut off the whistling kettle and took a sip of his tea.

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Sir, why do you have a picture of my mother on your fireplace?"

"We...were acquaintances when we were younger." Snape offered.

Considering Snape's slightly reclusive habits, Charlie figured that they were probably more than acquaintances. Perhaps they were friends. "Uh-huh. Acquaintances don't have pictures of each other when they were children." She pointed out.

Snape pursed his lips. "Just like your mother. We were friends in our Hogwarts days, even though I was in Slytherin and she was in Gryffindor."

"Well, that's nice." Charlie wondered why Snape hated her father so much and decided not to breach the topic. "What was she like?"

"She was someone you didn't want to cross. She was sweet and very protective of her friends. She also had one nasty temper."

"Did she ever hex people?" Charlie asked. She certainly wanted to hex Pansy on a few occasions.

"She was very good at casting hexes. There was one time where a Slytherin was picking on a first year Gryffindor. Lily was in her second year and didn't know the girl, but she wasted no time in scolding the brute for being so cruel and hexed him when he tried to curse her."

Charlie giggled. "Awesome! Did she ever hex you?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "You don't need to know if she did or not."

"She totally did."

...

Hermione awoke around one in the morning and crawled out of bed. She went to the bathroom and when she headed back to her guest room she ran into Charlie in the middle of the hallway. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I went into the kitchen. Professor Snape came in moments later and after a while he started sharing stories about my mother."

Hermione blinked in surprise. "He knew your mother?"

"Yeah, they were friends when they were in Hogwarts. I wanted to know why he hated my father so much, but I didn't ask. Surely my father would have been around them often if Professor Snape hung out with my mother."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, maybe not. It seems your father was the leader of a prank gang. The exact same gang that were at ends with Professor Snape. Maybe your mother wasn't too fond of them at the beginning."

Charlie shrugged. "Maybe you're right. I'll ask when I think he's a bit more used to me."

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day where Professor Snape actually tolerates you."

"Hey, stranger things have happened."

...

Christmas arrived and Charlie awoke to a fresh coat of snow and singing birds. She peered over the foot of her bed for the usual pile of presents and was surprised when there was none. Curious, she got up and knocked on Hermione's door.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked sleepily as she opened the door, her bushy hair a mess.

"Did you get any presents this morning?"

"Silly. They're in the living room underneath the tree."

Charlie recalled the beautiful spruce Snape had levitated into his living room and decorated with golden bubbles and blinking lights. She had forgotten all about it. Christmas at the Dursleys meant she was stuck in her cupboard until the Christmas guests had left. Then she had to cook the feast and serve it to her relatives and clean up.

"Right."

The two girls combed their hair and slipped on dress robes before heading into the living room. The lights danced across the walls and Ron was bouncing in place frantically. "Oi! It's about time!"

"Mister Weasley was about to have a fit." Snape drawled from his position in the red sitting chair by the fireplace. "Alright, go on and try not to break anything."

Ron eagerly tackled his pile of presents and Hermione and Charlie took a mug of hot chocolate from the tray in the middle of the coffee table and started to unwrap theirs as well.

Ron, of course, had gotten his usual Weasley jumper from his parents. The twins sent all of them joke kits and Percy sent them all golden quills to write with. Charlie Weasley sent Ron a miniature glass dragon figurine and Bill sent him a gold coin from Egypt. Ginny's gift to him was a book on Quidditch moves.

Ron thanked Charlie for the new Gobstones and Hermione for the new book bag, as his was rather banged up. Harry had sent all of them bags of sweets from Honeydukes.

"Wow, Ron!" Charlie exclaimed as she held up the sparkling blue and bronze Quidditch robes he had gotten her. "You didn't have to!"

"I wanted to," he mumbled back.

"You are sweet!" Hermione told him, loving her new organizer. "And Charlie thanks for the rainbow quills!"

Soon there was a pile of paper and two gifts left under the tree. Charlie removed the bulky package and called for Dobby. The Houself appeared and grew teary-eyed upon the gift that was handed to him. He eagerly tore the paper off to reveal a dozen different pairs of socks. "Mistress and friends are very kind to Dobby!"

After he stopped sobbing, Charlie offered him her hot chocolate and then grabbed the last package. She carefully carried it and set by a bewildered Snape before curling up on the couch beside Hermione.

"What's this?"

"Your Christmas present, of course. It's from all three of us. We got lucky when it came yesterday." Charlie remarked.

"It's a thank-you for being so hospitable," Hermione added.

Snape carefully pulled off the brown paper to reveal a gleaming set of brand new scales and beakers. Through his shock, he managed to say, "Thank you."

"Glad you like it." Charlie grinned and the three started to play with Ron's new Gobstone set.

...

Charlie and Hermione lugged their presents to their rooms. Charlie let out a sudden gasp upon seeing another package on her bed. "Wow!"

"Perhaps Professor Snape wanted to give you one in private." Hermione suggested.

Charlie set her gifts in her trunk and started to peel away the paper on the mysterious package. "Oh! Hermione!"

A beautiful broomstick lay among the wrapping. It had a gleaming handle and a golden register number. It was the Firebolt.

"I don't Professor Snape sent me this..."Charlie whispered.

Hermione checked the wrappings. "There's no name on it, either."

Ron burst into the room. "Hey! What's the hold up-whoa!"

Ron gaped at the broomstick. "Who gave you that?"

"I don't know." Charlie whispered.

Hermione bit her lip. "We should give it to Professor Snape."

"Are you mad?" Ron howled. "Think of all the games Charlie would win with this beauty! Can I ride on it?"

"NO!" Hermione shouted.

Ron held up his hands. "Alright, alright, you can go first."

Hermione huffed and stormed into the hallway. Moments later she came back with Snape. The Potions professor stared at the broom for a long moment. "Where did you find this?"

"On my bed." Charlie pointed at the spot where she had found it.

Snape bent over and examined the broomstick. "I think I'll take this."

Ron gaped in horror. "But sir-!"

"No buts, Mister Weasley." Snape picked up the Firebolt. "It might be harbouring a few hexes. I'll send it to Professor McGonagall and she can forward it to Professor Flitwick. He'll know how to detect any possible hexes. Madame Hooch will help him, I'm sure."

The Firebolt disappear out the room along with Snape and Ron glowered at Hermione. "You little snitch! What's wrong with you?"

Hermione looked offended. "It might have been from Sirius Black!"

"Hermione, how would Sirius Black even know where I am?" Charlie cried. "And how would he get a broom when the whole wizarding world is searching for him?"

"I don't know, but it's very possible that he did send it to you!" Hermione said stubbornly.

Charlie sighed. "Well, you get to tell Scarlett how her star Seeker lost the best broom in the world and why she won't be getting a new one." She brushed by Hermione and Ron immediately followed.

A gift from Sirius Black or not, Charlie really wanted a Firebolt.

**Awfully sorry for the wait. Hope this chapter has been worth it :P **


	10. It's Finally Happened

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**It's Finally Happened**

Snape brought the trio back to Hogwarts the day everyone else was due to arrive. Ron was still furious with Hermione, and although Charlie was irritated she knew Hermione was only trying to protect her. "A Firebolt, Hermione!" Charlie complained once more as they walked into the frigid January air to await Harry's arrival.

Hermione frowned. "You don't want to be thrown off when you're fifty feet in the air, do you?"

Ron grunted. Charlie couldn't help but giggle. "Come on, Ron. You have no reason to be upset. Just think, if I never get my Firebolt back, Gryffindor might win the Quidditch Cup!"

"Funny!" The redhead retorted. He still thought the loss of the Firebolt wasn't a laughing matter, but he cracked a smile anyway.

"There he is!" Hermione cried out suddenly, waving her arms in the air as Harry pushed ahead in the flow of kids travelling for the front steps. Harry panted as he jogged up to meet them, his face flushed.

"Hey, guys! How was your Christmas?" Harry asked as they started their way into the castle.

Ron snorted. "It was spent with Professor Snape."

Harry gaped at them. "Seriously?"

"Yup. We were the only students left in the castle, so I guess Dumbledore told Professor Snape to take us to his place for those two weeks." Charlie grinned at Harry's expression. "It wasn't so bad, really. How was your Christmas?"

Harry shook his head. "Not as interesting as yours was, I'm sure. Uncle Lupin and I just spent it at home."

"Did you take your annual Glamour Potion?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. Hermione hummed in thought. "I wonder if there is a spell that can cancel a Glamour...just for a moment."

"Library?" Ron asked glumly as Hermione quickly changed course and strode for her beloved library.

"But I just got here!" Harry protested as Charlie dragged him along. "Merlin..."

...

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you."

Charlie looked up from the stack of books Hermione had assigned her. Scarlett stood over her with crossed arms. "Yes?"

"Have you gotten a new broom yet? We have a match against the Gryffindors next week and I'd rather you not use the school brooms."

"Well, I had a Firebolt-"

"No way!" Scarlett squealed. She clasped her hands in excitement. "Where is it? Can I try it? How did you get it?"

"Whoa! I said I _had _a Firebolt. It was from an anonymous sender and Professor Snape sent it to Professor Flitwick to check for jinxes. I don't know when I'll get it back."

Scarlett was devastated. "But a Firebolt! Surely he's just being paranoid! I'll go have a word with him. A Firebolt! Oliver won't believe it!"

She hurried off and Charlie shook her head. She continued to skim the text in various books and jumped when Hermione uttered a squeal of delight from beside her.

"I think she found something," Rom remarked as he happily shut his own dusty volume. "What have you got, Hermione?"

Hermione read the passage aloud to them. "_A Glamour is cast for various reasons, the most common being or simple vanity. However, some cast Glamours to avoid the law. If someone becomes suspicious of a person who is wearing a Glamour, the Glamour can be cancelled for a brief moment by uttering the spell _Glamour Cancellius _and tapping the person's nose. If the person is wearing a Glamour, the Glamour will disappear and reveal the true person for mere seconds._

"This library does have everything!" Harry marvelled.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ron exclaimed.

They all hurried from the library and through the twisting corridors until they came upon Myrtle's bathroom. The gloomy ghost appeared as they barged in. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," Charlie greeted the ghost she often visited when she couldn't sleep. "How are you?"

"Depressed, as usual."

Hermione removed her wand and stepped up to Harry. "Okay, are you ready? _Glamour Cancellius!"_

Everyone watched in awe as Harry's brown eyes melted into emerald green ones. His dark complexion turned a few shades paler and he grew significantly skinner. His black hair grew shaggier and Harry Potter stood before them.

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed as he looked in the mirror. "I guess the potion influences my weight as well as my appearance."

"There's no doubt about it. You guys are definitely twins." Ron laughed. "I guess long and unmanageable hair runs in the family, yeah?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled at Harry. "You look very nice, Harry."

"Thanks. When am I going to change into my usual form again?" Harry asked as he twisted a strand of long dark hair around his finger. "Uncle Lupin will freak if he catches me like this."

Hermione checked the book she had taken out. "It said just a few seconds-oh."

Charlie frowned. "I don't like the sound of that."

Hermione flushed. "I suppose I should have read further...the Glamour will be cancelled for a few seconds if it's a spell...but it will fade after thirty minutes if it's a Glamour Potion. Apparently, the potions aren't as strong as the spells."

"WHAT?" Harry cried.

"It's true. Although you do need to keep up on Glamour spells regularly, they give off a stronger cloaking than a potion would." Hermione explained.

"That's not what he meant." Ron rolled his blue eyes. "He's freaking out because he has to go a half-hour as Harry Potter instead of his usual Harry Lupin."

"Oh...well, he'll just have to hide in here for a half-hour." Hermione shrugged apologetically. "We can stay with you."

Harry sighed. "Why is it always-?"

He cut off as giggles erupted from the other side of the bathroom door. Hermione gasped softly and frantically cast a Disillusionment Charm on both Ron and Harry. A second after she finished Cho Chang and her friends entered the bathroom.

Charlie and Hermione pretended to wash their hands as Cho used the mirror. "I would normally never use this bathroom, but Lavender is hogging the mirror in our Common Room," she explained.

Ron was standing absolutely still. Cho's friend was standing uncomfortably close to him and he was afraid to move. His nose twitched and he inhaled as he started to sneeze. Harry shot out an arm and placed a finger against his nose to halt it. Unfortunately for him, his arm accidently whacked against the girl's head and she screamed. "SOMETHING JUST HIT ME!"

Charlie was about to say that was ridiculous when Ron sneezed-loudly. Cho shrieked and raced from the bathroom with her friends hot on her heels. Charlie and Hermione hastily ushered Ron and Harry out of the bathroom. Filch would no doubt be by soon to see what the commotion was about, and Norris had a nose like a bloodhound.

"Well..." Charlie grinned as they started down the corridor, Ron and Harry trailing behind Hermione as silently as possible. "That went well."

"Get this Charm off of me!" Ron hissed.

"I don't think so. You can keep Harry company until the spell wears off. Just hang outside and chat until the half hour is up. Then find us and we'll take the Charm off of you." Hermione said.

Harry groaned. "Why did this have to get so complicated?"

...

It was just before dinnertime when Ron and Harry managed to find Charlie. She took off the charm and was relieved to see Harry Lupin standing in front of her. "Well, that worked out quite well."

"You didn't have to stand in the freezing snow for a half-hour!" Ron snapped.

"I am never doing that again," Harry agreed. "Ron and I are going to play chess after dinner. Do you want to play?"

"Professor Lupin just sent me a note. He said I can go to the History of Magic room if I'm still interested in those Anti-Dementor lessons." Charlie wrinkled her nose at the very mention of those awful creatures. "I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

She entered the Great Hall and ate a quick meal of casserole and bread before hurrying off to the History of Magic room. Lupin was already inside waiting for her. "Good evening, Charlotte."

"Good evening." Charlie eyed the large pack on Professor Binn's desk. "What's that for?"

"Well, we very well can't bring an actually Dementor into the school, can we? Luckily I managed to find another Boggart to practice on."

"What do I have to do?"

"I want you to focus on a happy memory and say Expecto patronum. It's a Patronus Charm." Lupin explained. "Each Patronus is unique to each wizard. A Patronus is so pure that a Dementor can't stand it. I want to remind you that this is advanced magic, Charlotte. You shouldn't worry if you don't get it right."

"I'll give it a shot." Charlie closed her eyes and focussed on the first time she ever rode a broomstick. "_Expecto patronum!_"

A silvery mist erupted from the end of her wand. Lupin nodded in approval. "Alright, here we go."

He opened the package and a Dementor immediately flew out. Charlie pointed her wand and started the spell, but choked halfway through it when a frigid sensation washed over her and clouded her mind. Her mother's screaming started again and-

"Charlotte!"

Charlie jerked. She realized that she had fallen to the floor. "I'm fine!" She got to her feet and wiped the sweat off of her brow. "Can we go again?"

Lupin studied her. "If you're sure. Perhaps you should select another happy memory."

Charlie took a deep breath and prepared herself. Lupin lifted the lid of the pack again and Charlie managed to say the spell before she fainted. Gulping, she climbed back to her feet. Lupin stared at her worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Charlie whispered. This time she had heard her father shout. "One more time."

Lupin nodded, and this time Charlie managed to have a silvery mist escape from the tip of her wand. "You did very well." Lupin told her as he handed her a Chocolate Frog. "Would you like to do this again next week? Same time, same place?"

Charlie grinned weakly. "Sure. That Dementor is going down!"

...

Scarlett found Charlie the next morning and told her Flitwick wouldn't budge. "He even threatened to give me detention! Honestly, how does he expect us to win if our Seeker doesn't have a broom?"

Charlie shrugged. "If the worst happens and I don't get it back by the match, then I'll use a school broom. I'm not buying a new one until Professor Flitwick is certain my Firebolt is dangerous."

Scarlett was crestfallen. "Fine...practice is tomorrow morning, at dawn. I'm trying to book the pitch as much as possible. Flint and Oliver are busy killing each other for time so I just slip in and grab it."

"We'll do great," Charlie promised.

Deciding it wouldn't be worth it to check with Professor Flitwick; Charlie searched for Hermione and found her behind a stack of books in the corner of the Ravenclaw Common Room. She browsed through some books and rolled her eyes. "Hermione, perhaps you should drop a few subjects."

"I couldn't do that!" Hermione cried, shoving aside one textbook in favour of another. "I've been doing so well so far!"

Charlie wondered how Hermione was getting to be at two classes at the same time, but decided that if Hermione hadn't told her yet then it wasn't her business. "I'm going to do my Transfiguration homework. Good luck with...this."

The dark-haired girl worked until it was time for Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid had been in gloomy spirits since getting the notice, but seemed rather cheery that day. The lesson was interesting enough and no one got hurt. Hermione asked Ron if he had written his speech and he pulled it out of his pocket for her to peruse. After a few corrections and additions, she deemed it acceptable.

Charlie had another Anti-Dementor lesson after dinner. Her progress was slow, as on good days she was able to cast a silvery mist. She no longer fainted and that was a bonus for her. After a few tries she and Lupin had a Butterbeer break.

"Professor Lupin..." Charlie asked as she sipped the frothy drink. "What does a Dementor have under his hood?"

Lupin looked thoughtful. "No one really knows...and the people who do aren't really with us anymore."

Charlie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, a Dementor only takes off its hood when it's giving the Kiss. The Kiss is given to extremely bad witches and wizards and the Kiss takes away their soul."

"They die?" Charlie asked in horror.

"Oh, no! What the Kiss does is much worse. Without a soul, a you can live. You would simply live a meaningless existence with no memories or sense of self." Lupin explained. "In fact, the Minister is going to administer the Kiss to Black when he gets caught."

Charlie knew Lupin had been friends with her father, and no doubt had been friends with Sirius Black as well. Biting her lip, Charlie wondered if she truly hated the man enough to wish the Kiss onto him.

And she was disgusted to find that she did.

Thanking Lupin, she left the History of Magic office, horrified with herself and with the Dementors. Lost in her own turmoil she failed to see Professor Flitwick as he came around the corner. "Oof! Sorry, Professor!"

"It's quite alright. I have something for you, Miss Potter."

Charlie gasped in delight when Flitwick held out her Firebolt. "Seriously?"

"There were no jinxes or hexes. You have a very good friend somewhere, Miss Potter. Please, do tell Miss Ezra you have gotten it back. Perhaps now she'll stop staking out my office door and ambushing me."

Charlie giggled. "I will! Thank you so much!"

She tore off down the corridor and danced a little jig. Her euphoria died instantly when Harry raced around the corner with a look of horror on his face. "What's wrong?"

He stopped in front of her and rubbed the back of his neck. "Er...well...Crookshanks has finally eaten Scabbers."

Charlie pressed a hand to her forehead. "Please no."

"Yeah. Ron found his book bag all torn up and his notebook was splattered with a bit of blood and there were a few ginger cat hairs as well. Someone must have let Crookshanks into the Gryffindor Common Room. He isn't happy and is really laying into Hermione." Harry explained.

"Oh dear..." Charlie groaned. "So, you want to stick with Ron for a few months?"

"_Months?"_

"This isn't one of their little spats, Harry. This is huge. And we're going to be in the middle of it." Charlie marched off to find Hermione. Harry groaned.

"But I don't _want _to be in the middle of it!"

**Not so long a wait now, is it XD**


	11. Meltdowns and Frights

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Meltdowns and Frights**

Ron and Hermione indeed refused to speak to each other since Scabbers demise. Hermione spent the majority of her time in the library or the Common Room, reviewing various texts and doing homework. Charlie would often come back from Quidditch practices to find the bushy-haired girl drowning in a sea of pages and parchment.

Ron spent most of his time with Harry, since Charlie hung out with Hermione so often. When it became apparent that Hermione would not tear herself away from her work Charlie reluctantly joined the two boys on their evening walks around the castle and was subjected to Ron's rants about Hermione's insensitivity.

"Will they ever make up?" Harry asked as they walked to the Great Hall for lunch one day.

Charlie shrugged. "I doubt it. Perhaps after the summer holidays they'll forget everything and fourth year won't be so bad."

Harry was horrified. "But we still have a good five months of school left!"

"Ron has been moody lately...maybe he'll feel better if he has a ride on my Firebolt." Charlie mused.

"You're going to let him ride the sacred Firebolt?"

"I was always going to let him ride it. It's just sooner rather than later." Charlie pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and sighed contentedly at the aroma of grilled cheese sandwiches and biscuits.

She sat down on the bench beside Hermione (who only lifted her head from her textbook to greet her before lowering it again) and started eating a grilled cheese. Ron was picking at his food over at Gryffindor and sent a few dirty looks Hermione's way.

Charlie gulped down her food and went to cheer her friend up. "Hey, Ron."

"Hello, Charlie." Ron took a bite of biscuit. "Has Crookshanks eaten any other rats to wash Scabbers down?"

"I feel compelled to remind you that Crookshanks is a cat that eats mice by nature, and that Hermione wasn't even the one who let him into your Common Room."

"But she was the one who let that beast out."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Listen, I'm having a Quidditch practice until seven tonight. Scarlett doesn't want any non-Ravenclaws to attend, but if you want to come over to the pitch after seven then I'll let you have a ride on my Firebolt."

Ron gaped at her. "Really?"

"Yup. Don't keep me waiting." Charlie grinned at him.

"I won't" Ron said eagerly.

He ate quite a bit more food after Charlie left.

...

"Gryffindor doesn't stand a chance!" Clancy cried as he admired the Firebolt.

"We'll dominate!" Tommy agreed.

Scarlett snorted. "We better! I bet Oliver ten Galleons that we would win." She glanced at Charlie. "Win that match. I don't have ten Galleons..."

Aurora grinned. "I'd hate to see what would happen if we lose, then."

"Trust me; I'll go crazy if we don't win this." Scarlett said flatly. "I graduate this year. This is my last chance to win the Quidditch Cup."

"Don't worry, we'll win this." Charlie promised. "And...I'm going to miss you when you go."

Scarlett smiled at her. "I'm going to miss you too. You are the only normal one on this team...except for perhaps maybe Eliza. That's why the captain duties are being passed on to her when I leave."

"WHAT?" Tommy exploded, who was a sixth year as well as Eliza.

Eliza blushed. "Really? Wow! Thank you! I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Now enough sappy stuff! Let's get practicing!"

Charlie discovered that her new broom had speeds that couldn't be matched. She twisted and turned with greater accuracy and the Snitch didn't have a chance. Scarlett was beside herself with excitement. Madame Hooch oversaw their practice and had a particular eye for the Firebolt. Charlie landed on the ground after a while and offered it to the Flying Teacher, who gleefully started doing loops around the pitch like a first-year on a sugar high.

After a while the other team members headed back to the castle to psyche themselves up for the big game. Charlie got her broom back just as Ron came running into view. The redhead spent a good amount of time zooming around the pitch. Charlie tossed a few Quaffles in the air and Ron caught them all.

"Alright!" Madame Hooch called after twenty minutes had passed. "Time to head back to the castle."

Ron came back to the ground and the two kids started off. "That broom is brilliant!"

"Glad you like it," Charlie replied. She glanced at the Quidditch stands and froze as a pair of gleaming eyes stated back at her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she recalled her past two sighting of the Grim. She yanked out her wand and whispered, "_Lumos."_

The bulky form of Crookshanks was illuminated. Ron swore and shouted at him. Charlie let out a sigh of relief and picked up the pace, dragging Ron back to the castle and keeping her eyes straight ahead.

...

The match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had arrived. Charlie managed to scarf down a piece of toast before heading out into the cool air with the midnight blue Quidditch robe Ron had got her and her Firebolt. The stands were packed and excitement was in the air.

Scarlett was buzzing with adrenaline. "We got this! All we have to do is win this match and then we face Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup!"

"Is that all?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

The Captain ignored him. "I want no funny business. Clancy, I want one hand on the broom and one hand holding the Bludger Bat. Tommy, _keep your mouth shut. _Aurora, I don't want one curse word out of you. Eliza, keep doing what you do. Danny, just try to fly in a straight line. Charlie, keep doing what _you _do."

"Favouritism..." Tommy muttered.

The Ravenclaw team filed onto the pitch and got into position. Madame Hooch blew the whistle and everyone shot into the air. Katie Bell immediately blocked Danny for the Quaffle and raced for Scarlett. She tossed it over to Angelina Johnson, who in turn tried to pass it to Alicia Spinnet but Tommy grabbed it out of the air.

Charlie circled the pitch in search of the Snitch. Clancy and Aurora were doing a good job of deflecting the Bludgers. Dean Thomas, the Gryffindor Seeker, was tailing her. Smirking slightly, Charlie went into a deep dive and faked him out. As she turned out of the dive, she caught sight of the Snitch as it zipped to the other side of the pitch. Dean gasped and the two of them raced for it.

A shriek caught Charlie's attention and she glanced over her shoulder. Alicia was pointing at something below in horror. Charlie followed her gaze and spotted four hooded Dementors on the pitch, staring up at her. She immediately grabbed her wand and thrust it out. "_Expecto patronum!"_

Something large and silver burst from the end of her wand. Not even pausing, Charlie turned back around and grabbed the Snitch out of the air, Dean a few feet behind her.

The Ravenclaws erupted into cheers. Charlie found herself in the middle of a team hug and she laughed. She eased to the ground and spotted Professor Lupin among the crowd pouring onto the pitch. "Professor! Didi you see my Patronus?"

Lupin smiled. "I did, indeed. That's very impressive for a third-year."

Charlie beamed. "And I didn't even feel cold!"

Lupin scratched the back of his neck. "Er...well, Charlotte...they weren't _really _Dementors."

Charlie frowned and turned. Sure enough, Draco, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were twisted up in the black cloaks they had been wearing. "Aw...those jerks."

McGonagall and Flitwick were yelling at the group of Slytherins furiously. Lupin chuckled. **"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright."**

"I gave _him _a fright?" Charlie muttered. But her annoyance soon vanished when her team started dragging her back to the Ravenclaw Common Room for a party.

It was a grand party, too. Someone managed to smuggle in food and every Ravenclaw was laughing and joking. Except for Hermione, who was still sitting behind her stack of books. Charlie walked over to her after the party started to die down and people were heading off to bed. "Did you even go to the match today?"

"Of course I did! You did brilliantly, and that Patronus of yours was great." Hermione said. "But I have so much work to do and exams are only a few months away and-oh Merlin, what am I _doing?_"

Hermione burst into tears and Charlie hastened to calm her. "It's fine! You'll do wonderfully! You always do. Would you like some help?"

"No, no, you couldn't. You've already been a big help on Hagrid's trial, handing me your notes and everything. It's not my fault I'm _going to fail everything!"_

Hermione was now struggling to breathe as panic overtook her. Charlie managed to locate a paper bag and quickly handed it to Hermione. The girl started breathing shakily into it and Charlie rubbed her back soothingly. Deciding that Madame Pomfrey was someone Hermione ought to see, Charlie started urging her out of the Common Room and down the corridors.

"What's the matter?" Pomfrey asked as Charlie ushered a still-panicking Hermione into the infirmary.

"I think she's having a breakdown." Charlie informed. "Too much schoolwork."

"Ah, yes. I've seen a few of these." Pomfrey pulled a Calming Drought off of the shelf and handed it to Hermione. "Come on, dear, drink up."

Hermione reluctantly pulled the bag away from her mouth and gulped down the potion. After a moment, her breathing started to even out and the sobs lessened. Pomfrey nodded approvingly. "If she has another one, bring her back down to me and I'll keep her for the night."

"Thank you," Charlie said gratefully and ushered Hermione from the room. "Okay, no work for you tomorrow."

The two girls started back down the corridor and were surprised to see a flow of students travelling towards them. "It's three in the morning!" Charlie exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Our Head of House just told us to go to the Great Hall." A Hufflepuff fifth-year shrugged. "Apparently, it's the same for every other House."

"We know what's happened." Fred said grimily as he and George stepped up to them. "Ron woke up screaming and said Sirius Black was standing over him with a knife."

Hermione gasped in horror. "No!"

"Yes. His bed hangings were slashed, as well. McGonagall came bursting in and Ron told her what he had seen. Neville lost the paper with the passwords to the Common Room and Sirius Black must have found it."

"But I'm not even in Gryffindor!" Charlie cried. "Oh, Ron! Is he okay?"

"He'll need some stitches. The knife cut into his shoulder pretty badly. Sirius attacked after he started screaming. I guess he decided that blasting through a whole House would take too much time and booked it." Fred scowled. "If I ever see that stupid git, I'll hand him right over to the Dementors. No one messes with my family."

"Black must still think you're in Gryffindor," Hermione whispered as they entered the Great Hall. "He selected a bed, and didn't expect that person to see him. Ron started screaming and Black tried to silence him, but it was too late."

Charlie was fuming. "I'm really glad Ron's okay. I can't believe Black!"

Hermione bit her lip. "Charlie, what if the last words I ever spoke to him were angry words?"

"He's fine. You have plenty of time to make-up with him." Charlie reminded her. "We'll visit Ron in the infirmary first thing tomorrow."

"That's true. Oh, I do feel sorry for Neville. Professor McGonagall won't be happy..." Hermione bit her lip.

Charlie nodded. Her mind wasn't even on Neville or his troubles. It was on Sirius Black and how he had almost killed her best friend in an attempt to get to her. How many would he kill in Gryffindor before he realized she was a Ravenclaw?

How many people would he kill...before he finally killed her?

**Neville is in so much trouble :)**


	12. Busted

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Busted**

The entire student body of Hogwarts was once more forced to sleep in the Great Hall. Hermione and Charlie found Harry and explained what had occurred. Harry was horrified. "He could have been killed!"

That's what bothered them the most. The fact they had come so close to losing a very dear friend.

The three of them fell into a troubled sleep. Charlie tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, nightmares plaguing her mind. Something pressed into her side and panicked; she bolted upwards and scrambled backwards. Her mind foggy, she squinted at the figure leaning over her. A scream rose in her throat but before it escaped her a familiar voice whispered, "It's only me, Miss Potter. I apologize for not identifying myself sooner."

Charlie let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the voice of Professor Flitwick. "It's alright, sir. You gave me a scare, that's all."

Flitwick motioned for her to follow him. "I was going to wait until morning, but Mister Weasley has been asking for the lot of you for a while now."

At the mention of Ron's name Charlie jumped out of her sleeping bag and hurried to wake Hermione and Harry as silently as she could. "Guys! Wake up! Ron wants to see us!"

Hermione and Harry followed Charlie and Flitwick out of the Great Hall and down the corridors. Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "Is he alright?"

"His shoulder needed a few stitches and he lost a bit of blood, but he's perfectly fine now." Flitwick assured them. They entered the infirmary and Ron brightened upon seeing them. He was pale and tired, but he managed to sit up against his pile of pillows.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked softly as she neared the edge of his bed.

Ron smiled weakly. "Extremely sore."

Madame Pomfrey finished cleaning up her medical supplies. "I don't want you to put any strain on that shoulder, Mister Weasley."

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey."

Flitwick and Madame Pomfrey left the room, saying that they had a staff meeting to attend. Charlie sighed. This meant Sirius Black had once more escaped. "Oh, Ron. I'm sorry about all this."

Ron arched an eyebrow. "Were you the one standing over me with a knife?"

"No..."

"Then you have nothing to be sorry for."

Charlie nodded, although she still felt bad. Sirius Black had only gone into Gryffindor Tower because he had thought she would be there. "I know. Have your brothers been by to see you yet?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah. But once Fred and George realized that I would live they started annoying me again. Percy told them off and Pomfrey eventually kicked them all out. I wanted to see you guys, so she finally agreed."

"So I hear Neville is going to be in a lot of trouble." Harry settled down into a chair beside Ron's cot and grimaced. "What happened?"

"Well, I was sleeping when I heard this sort of ripping noise. I woke up and discovered Sirius Black standing over my bed with a knife. I screamed and all of a sudden there was this agonizing pain in my shoulder. Black rushed out and everyone else woke up. Dean saw my shoulder and ran for McGonagall. I've never seen her face so pale! She took me down here and Pomfrey removed the knife and patched me up.

"As for Neville...well, with the random changing of passwords thanks to Sir Cadogan, Neville asked for a sheet of paper that would contain all the passwords for the week. He lost it, of course, and I suppose Sirius Black found it somehow." Ron shook his head. "Poor bloke. I don't blame him, really."

"You can't really blame McGonagall for overreacting." Hermione spoke up. "I mean...you could have died. And...I would really regret it if the last words I said to you were angry words."

Ron hesitated. "Yeah, me too. Mind you, I still hate Crookshanks and can't stand the sight of him. But after this experience, I wouldn't want my last words to you to be angry ones either."

Charlie flung her hands in the air. "They forgave each other!"

Harry clapped his hands. "Jolly good!"

Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes. "But what I don't understand is why Black took off. He could have easily killed everyone in the dorm." Ron furrowed his brow in confusion.

Charlie shrugged. "Perhaps he decided that it would be too much trouble to kill every boy and that he wouldn't have enough time to escape."

The ginger looked dubious at this possible theory, but nodded. "I can't wait until that guy gets caught. I don't think any of us can take much more of this."

...

Ron was finally released from the infirmary two days later. Molly Weasley and Arthur came over to visit their son. Molly cried a fair bit and Ron managed to convince her to check up on her other children. Charlie and Hermione were going to visit Ron when Molly came around the corner and spotted them.

"Thank goodness you kids are alright!" She cried as she hugged them both. "Oh Charlie, it might have been you! Or you Hermione! It could have been anyone!"

"But it was Ron," Charlie pointed out. "And he deserves all the concern and worry."

Molly fussed over them for a few more minutes before Arthur managed to pull her away. After the two girls were out of sight Arthur shook his head. "Do you see why I wanted Charlie to be on her guard?"

"I can't understand it!" Molly bit her lip. "How on earth did Black get into Hogwarts? Oh, when I think of what that brute almost did to Ron, I-"

"He's fine." Arthur soothed his wife. "And I'm sure Albus is doing everything in his power to secure the school."

"Rest assured that I am."

Albus approached the pair in the middle of the corridor. Due to the excitement a few days ago, classes were cancelled until further notice and the majority of the students were either in their Common Rooms or the library. "I feel that I have failed in my duties as Headmaster."

"Albus Dumbledore, don't say things like that!" Molly exclaimed. "You are a powerful and wise wizard, but not even you can predict the actions of Sirius Black."

Albus' blue eyes were devoid of their usual twinkle. He had been awakened by Minerva the night Ronald was attacked, and he felt sick every time he imagined what could have happened to him or any other student. "I thought I had every protection possible on Hogwarts. Not even the Dementors were able to prevent him."

Molly shuddered. "I get a horrible sensation when I enter through those gates. It's just awful!"

"I don't like them any more than you do, Molly. But Cornelius seems to think that they will be of great assistance."

Arthur sighed. "Some help they were. What are you going to do now, Albus?"

"The Fat Lady is back where she should be. Some security trolls are already guarding her and all the passwords have been changed. Filius is teaching the front doors what Sirius looks like. I myself will patrol the corridors nightly. Now that a student has been injured, I will not rest until I am assured of their safety. I would have never been able to live with myself if Ronald had been..." Albus couldn't bear to finish his sentence.

"He wasn't!" Molly said sharply. "And I have full faith that you will do everything in your power to keep Black out. Like I said before, no one can predict the mind of Sirius Black. Now, let's go get some tea. It should calm our nerves."

...

Charlie sat in the library with Hermione, reviewing her Potions work. The bushy-haired girl kept her eyes glued to the book she was reading. A knock sounded on one of the library glass windows and Charlie glanced up. Harry waved at her to come out. Charlie figured Hermione wouldn't notice if she was missing for a few minutes and went to join her brother.

"What's up?" She asked as she stepped out into the corridor.

Harry ran his fingers through his short raven hair. "Well, Hagrid asked Ron and I to go to his house for tea. At first he fussed over Ron and cursed Black and then he started scolding us for avoiding Hermione."

"But she and Ron are on better terms! Not the greatest, but at least Ron isn't insulting her every time he sees her." Charlie pointed out.

"Yeah, well, apparently Hagrid would come into the library to keep Hermione company when you had Quidditch and Anti-Dementor lessons. I wish I would have known. I would have slipped away from Ron for an hour or two."

"You can now. You know, you're not even mad at Hermione."

"I know, but I have been spending a lot more time with Ron than with you two." Harry shrugged. "I'll try to fix that. Anyway, he also said how big of a help Hermione and you were. Ron felt guilty for not preparing anything other than his speech, but Hagrid wasn't mad at us for that. I however feel like a lowlife. I haven't done anything!"

"You just forgot, that's all."

"But I shouldn't forget something like that!" Harry protested.

"It's fine!" Charlie soothed him. "You had other things to worry about. When is the trial?"

"On Friday. Ron is going to miss the day of school to give his testimony."

Charlie glanced into the library. Hermione was still reading intently. "I don't know how she does it."

Harry laughed. "It's Hermione. Hey, did you hear about what happened to Neville?"

"Please. We all heard the Howler at breakfast this morning." Charlie flinched at the memory. She really did feel bad for Neville.

"That's not all. McGonagall forbade everyone from giving him the new password and he has to wait until someone lets him in. He's also been banned from all Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the year."

Charlie gasped. "Poor Neville! Professor McGonagall is being a bit harsh on him, isn't he?"

Harry shrugged. "If someone was the cause-however indirectly-of the almost-murder of your student, then you would go overboard as well."

"Have you seen Harry?" A familiar voice said from around the corridor. A muffled voice answered, and footsteps started nearing them.

"Have fun with Ron!" Charlie said quickly and shoved Harry towards the approaching ginger before hurrying into the library.

If it was a choice between a study-obsessed Hermione and a ginger with a testy temper because of a sore shoulder, she would take Hermione any day.

...

"Another Hogsmeade visit is scheduled for this weekend," Ron noted as he glanced at the board outside the Great Hall. "Are you coming, Charlie?"

Charlie shrugged. "I'm not sure. With Sirius Black so close to the castle, is it really such a good idea?"

"You can just keep your Cloak on you the whole time like you did before." Ron suggested. It was the day after he had attended Buckbeak's trial and he didn't hold high hopes., even though he and Hagrid had given it their best shot.

She glanced at Harry, who shrugged. "So long as we don't get killed."

As the week went on Charlie wondered how she would explain her absence to Hermione, who would no doubt oppose the idea strongly. It soon became clear that Hermione was no longer aware of anything due to the amount of time she spent in the library. The morning of the Hogsmeade trip she found Ron and said, "Meet me in front of Honeydukes. I have to grab my Cloak first."

Ron beamed at her and dragged Harry off to join the crowd gathering in front of the doors. Charlie went to her dorm to collect her Cloak and map and stuffed both items into her book bag. She shuffled down the corridors and approached the statue.

"Charlie!"

Charlie jumped and whirled around. "Neville! Hey!"

The round boy smiled happily at her. "I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either! Do you want to play some Exploding Snap?"

"Oh, no thanks Neville. I was going to look over my essay for Professor Lupin-"

"Can you help me with mine? I don't understand the thing with the garlic." Neville scratched his head. "Are they supposed to eat it or-?"

"What have we here?"

Neville gave a squeak of fright and hid behind Charlie. Charlie grinned easily as Snape loomed over them. "Hello, Professor."

Snape arched an eyebrow. "A strange place to be hanging around, wouldn't you say Potter?"

"I just stopped to have a little chat with Neville, sir. We're off to the library right now." Charlie dragged Neville down the corridor and glanced over her shoulder. Snape was studying the statue suspiciously. Sighing, she slowed to a walk.

"Are we going to work on our essays in the library?" Neville questioned.

Charlie tilted her head up in exasperation. It was obvious she wasn't going to lose Neville anytime soon, and she felt bad just ditching him. "Listen, Neville, I'm actually going to go to Hogsmeade."

"But you're not allowed!" Neville whispered.

"I know, I know. But I hate being cooped up in the castle while everyone has fun, so I was going to use this secret passage I discovered. You can come too, if you want. But you have to promise me something."

Neville nodded furiously.

"I need you to promise me that you won't breathe a word of this secret passage to anyone, and you have to cover your ears when I whisper the password."

"I promise!" Neville said sincerely.

Charlie liked Neville very much and trusted him. She led him back to the statue and told him to cover his ears. He quickly obeyed and Charlie tapped the hump and whispered the password. The hump slid open and Charlie motioned for Neville to go first. The boy cautiously slid through and yelped as he dropped down. Charlie followed him and pulled out her wand. "I think it would be easier if I cast a Disillusionment Charm on you. When we head back to the castle I'll take it off of you."

Neville frowned. "What will you do?"

"For Christmas when I was eleven, someone sent me an Invisibility Cloak." Charlie explained. "It belonged to my dad. I use whenever I do stuff like this because I kind feel a connection to him...that sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"No!" Neville said earnestly. "I understand."

Charlie smiled gratefully and cast the charm. She then slid the Cloak over her body and led Neville through the long passage. The boy puffed his way through and when they emerged through the trapdoor he gasped. "Wow! That took _forever!_"

Charlie giggled. "I felt that way the first time too."

They slipped out of Honeydukes and Charlie found Ron. "Hey!" She whispered.

Ron jumped. "Bloody-! Don't scare me like that! What took you so long?"

"Well, Professor Snape was hanging around and I brought Neville with me."

"Where is he?" Ron spun in a circle, eyes darting about. Neville, who was standing next to Ron's ear, spoke to convey his presence. Ron jumped again and groaned.

Harry rolled his eyes. "This is going to be awful. What direction am I suppose to talk in? And how am I supposed to know where you are?"

"Just talk under your breath and we'll answer." Charlie answered. "Now come on. I want to go to Zonko's."

The group wandered into the joke store, where Ron and Charlie bought a bunch of items. Charlie had to give Ron money so he could purchase the items she wanted. Neville and Charlie had to take great care not to run into anyone.

"Now what?" Harry asked as they shuffled back outside, Ron stuffing his items into his pockets and handing Charlie hers.

"Can we go to the Three Broomsticks?" Neville asked hopefully.

"I want to check out the Shrieking Shack." Ron put in.

So Harry and Neville went to the Three Broomsticks and Ron and Charlie went to the Shrieking Shack. They leaned against the fence and stared up at the creepy, run-down house. "This place gives me the creeps."

Ron smiled. "Not even the Hogwarts ghosts come here."

"Hey, Weasley!"

"Oh no..." Charlie winced and turned around. Pansy and Draco were climbing up the hill, grinning wickedly.

"Admiring your future house, Weasley? I bet it's ten times better than where you live now." Pansy taunted.

Draco laughed. "Yeah. Hey, did you hear that the stupid bird is going to get the axe? I don't why you're standing up for that brute. None of you stand a chance!"

Charlie prevented Ron from attacking them. "I'll get rid of them," she muttered. She bent down and carefully scooped up some mud. She then chucked at the pair of them. Pansy shrieked and jumped back, spluttering. Ron burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

The two Slytherins found themselves being pummelled by an invisible spectre. They were being attacked by mud and sticks. Pansy ran blindly and slammed into someone. She toppled to the ground. She opened her mouth preparing to yell at Weasley before realizing she was staring at Charlie's head.

_Only _her head.

Screaming, the two of them tore back to the castle. Charlie and Ron both swore. She raced for Honeydukes while Ron went to warn Neville. Charlie crashed through the secret passage and clambered back into the corridor. She whipped the Cloak off of her and chucked down into the hole. If Malfoy and Parkinson managed to catch a teacher, getting caught with it wouldn't be good.

Charlie took a minute to catch her breath. She adjusted the bag over her shoulder and smoothed down her hair. Just then she heard footsteps striding briskly towards her. Professor Snape rounded the corner just as she stepped away from the statue. "Hello, Professor."

Not amused, he crooked a finger at her. Charlie reluctantly followed him down the corridors and into his office, where she took a seat. Snape crossed his arms and studied her. "I have just heard something rather peculiar."

Charlie blinked. "Really?"

"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson have told me that they were at the Shrieking Shack, talking to Mr. Weasley-alone. Then Mr. Malfoy stated that an invisible force threw mud at them. Do you know what this apparition was?"

"No, sir."

"It was your head, Potter. Only your head lying on the ground. Care to tell me how that is possible?"

"It's not, sir."

"Miss Potter, if your head was in Hogsmeade then where was the rest of you?" Snape asked.

"Around the castle." Charlie shrugged.

"Can anyone confirm that?"

Charlie didn't answer.

Snape shook his head. "Miss Potter, the entire Ministry of Magic and this castle is doing everything in its power to keep you safe from Sirius Black, and you decide to go gallivanting off to Hogsmeade and ignore the rules laid out for you. Perhaps you are like your father, as I had initially thought."

Charlie winced and slunk low in her seat. "I'm sure my father simply made some bad choices."

"Choices that nearly got me killed, Miss Potter."

Recalling the time Dumbledore had told her James had saved Snape's life, Charlie bit her lip. It had never occurred to her that her father and his gang may have been the ones to put him in that position in the first place.

"Turn out your pockets."

_Bollocks._

Charlie reluctantly removed her Zonko stuff from her pockets. Snape shook his head and gestured for her bag. Charlie handed it over and he pulled out the map. "Ron bought me that Zonko stuff ages ago..."

Snape arched an eyebrow. "And you've been carrying all this in your pocket since Christmas? How touching. And what, may I ask, is this?"

"Extra parchment." Charlie said idly as Snape held up the map between two fingers.

"So you won't mind if I just toss it in the fire?"

Charlie hoped he was bluffing. But as the Marauders Map got much too close to the flickering flames she protested, "No!"

Snape drew his hand back. "So, what is this, then? Directions on how to get past the Dementors? Instructions written in invisible ink?"

He tried various spells in an attempt to get the map to reveal its secrets, but nothing happened. And then...

_**Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.**_

Charlie pressed a hand over her mouth as the inky black script slid over the parchment. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there.

_**Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.**_

_Oh, please stop. _Charlie begged as Snape's face turned whiter.

_**Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.**_

_Oh, nooooooo! I'm so dead!_

_**Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.**_

Charlie watched apprehensively as Snape walked silently to the fireplace and threw some glittering stuff in. He called into it and seconds later Lupin stepped out. Snape held out the map. "Miss Potter happened to have this in her pockets."

Lupin stared at it.

"It seems to be full of Dark Magic. Since that your area of profession, care to tell me where she got such a thing?"

Lupin pulled his gaze away from the black script to stare at Snape. "It's nothing more than a practical joke. Nothing to worry about."

"Tell me, does this look like something she could get at a joke shop?" Snape snarled. "Or is it something she got _**directly from the manufacturers?"**_

Charlie was utterly baffled. "I don't know any of those people."

"You see? A simple joke. I'm sure it's a Zonko's product or something of that nature-"

The door burst open and Charlie jumped in her seat. Ron gripped the back of her chair and panted heavily, his face red. "I-got...that-stuff...from-Zonko's-for...Charlie-ages...ago!" He wheezed.

Lupin clapped his hands together. "See? Everything's cleared up." He took the map back from Snape and ushered Charlie and Ron from his office. "Come along, you two. I want to discuss my latest assignment."

Charlie waited until they were out of ear-shot. "Er, Professor-"

"I don't want to hear it." Lupin held up his hand. "I happen to know that this map was confiscated many years ago. How it fell into your possession, I don't know. But I'm stunned that you didn't hand it in, especially considering the circumstances."

Both kids flushed.

"I'll be holding on to this, Charlotte."

Charlie nodded. "Yes, sir. Sir, why did Professor Snape ask if I had gotten it **directly from the manufactures?"**

"The creators would have lured you out of the castle simply for the amusement of it." Lupin answered shortly.

Ron looked awed. "You knew the makers?"

"I've met them." Lupin said vaguely. "Charlie, this is the only time I will cover for you. I would have thought that you would have appreciated your parents sacrifice for you much more than this. But apparently not, considering you are willing to risk your life for a mere bag of jokes."

Ron flinched as Lupin strode off. "I'm sorry, mate. I shouldn't' have convinced you to come with me."

Charlie nodded gloomily. "It's alright. It's my fault, really. I-NEVILLE!" Utterly panicked, she danced on the spot. "I forgot about Neville! Where is he? Is he ok?"

"Calm down!" Ron said quickly. "Neville's waiting for you outside the library. When Malfoy and Pansy ran off and you booked it, I hurried to tell Harry and Neville what had happened. Harry then reminded me about the Zonko stuff and I raced all the way back to the castle. I figured the snakes would tell Snape-sorry, Professor Snape-first and so I went to his office. It seems like I was just in time."

"You were." Charlie let out a sigh of relief and ran to the library. She took the charm off of Neville and apologized to him. Neville grinned shakily and admitted he had fun before rushing off to Gryffindor Tower.

"Where's Harry?"

Ron shrugged. "He could be at the Great Hall. I told him I would meet him there."

Charlie winced. "He won't be there if his uncle finds him first..."

Ron and Charlie walked down the corridor when they encountered Hermione clutching a letter. Ron frowned. "What's the matter? Lose your beast?" He still hadn't quite gotten over the loss of Scabbers.

Hermione looked at him reproachfully. "_No. _I just thought you should know...Buckbeak has lost the trial. He's...going to be executed."

**Yikes. Hope the trio find Harry before his uncle does... :)**


	13. The Quidditch Cup

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**The Quidditch Cup**

Ron sighed heavily. "I figured. Lucius Malfoy was there and told everyone what a menace Buckbeak was and that I was only saying good things because I was scared that Hagrid might sic Buckbeak on me."

Charlie shook her head. "No one has the ability to overpower Lucius Malfoy...he can fold everyone into his pocket with a snap of his fingers. When's the appeal?"

Hermione sniffled. "A few days from now, maybe a week..."

"Don't worry Hermione. This time I'll give all the help I can." Ron promised. Hermione let out a wail and tackled Ron into a hug. The ginger looked fearfully at Charlie, who just shrugged. Ron patted her on the back and after a while Hermione pulled away.

"I feel terribly sorry for Hagrid," she muttered. "But thanks to the new security measures Professor Dumbledore put in, we can't leave the castle this late."

Indeed, the sun was already beginning to set. They would have to see Hagrid tomorrow in Care of Magical Creatures. "Well, we might not be able to comfort Hagrid, but we can see if we can rescue Harry."

Hermione looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Charlie explained how she had gotten caught in Hogsmeade and Lupin had taken the map from her. Hermione lectured her as they walked to the Great Hall, where Harry was waiting for them. "What took you guys so long?"

"Bad news. Buckbeak's getting executed."

Harry gasped. "Oh no! Doesn't he get an appeal?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how much good it will do him. But we're going to contribute all we can this time, right Harry?" Ron said.

Harry nodded. "Of course!"

Charlie pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "Um...be prepared for a visit from your uncle."

Harry froze, one hand hovering over the door handle to the Great Hall, where students were already beginning to eat. "Why?" He asked slowly, dreading the answer.

"Well, you already know I got caught in Hogsmeade. When I got back to the castle, Professor Snape found me and said Pansy snitched. Well, those weren't his exact words, but you get what I mean. So then he searched my bag and found the map. And then he called your uncle into his office and Professor Lupin knew exactly what it was."

"Oh no!" Harry moaned, burrowing his head in his hands. "He's gonna kill me!"

"At least you have a heads up now!" Charlie smiled weakly. They entered the Hall and went to their respective tables. After a while Lupin came down from the High Table and approached Harry. He motioned for his ward to follow him and reluctantly, he obeyed. As he left the Hall he turned to Charlie and mouthed, _'I'm dead!'_

...

The walk to his uncle's chambers seemed to take forever. Lupin opened up his quarters and Harry silently stepped inside. The room was circular and the wooden floors were covered in thick rugs. There was a fireplace at one end of the room and various bookcases scattered around. Down the hall was his uncle's room, and across from that was his room should he chose to come and stay the night.

He did every once in a while. And he had a feeling he would be doing so tonight.

Harry sat on the squashy armchair by the fire and watched nervously as his uncle paced in front of him. "Did you know about the map?" Lupin asked sternly.

"Yes," Harry whispered softly. "I did."

"Were you aware of what the map was capable of?"

"It showed every entrance and secret entrance that led inside the castle." This wasn't going well for him.

Lupin could hardly believe his ears. "So you kept a map like that in your possession while a serial killer was on the loose?" He demanded.

"Charlie kept it in her trunk!" Harry protested. "Sirius Black never got his hands on it!"

"BUT HE COULD HAVE!" Lupin roared. "He broke into the castle twice already without any help. Can you imagine what would have happened if he got a hold of the map? Charlotte could have dropped it somewhere, or maybe Black would have tried to break into Ravenclaw Tower while Charlie wasn't there and discovered it.

"Not only did you keep this map a secret, but you also aided Charlie when she snuck into Hogsmeade! I know you knew, because the four of you are hardly apart! How could you allow her to do something like that? Black killed thirteen people! Do you really think he would be against killing a whole village when the girl he had so long wanted revenge against was _right there_?"

Harry shrunk back against the cushions. "No," he squeaked. "We weren't thinking."

Lupin pinched the bridge of his nose. It hurt him to think how close Charlotte had been to getting killed, whether she realized it or not. It was especially painful to see how reckless his charge was being. He, Charlotte and their friends were bright kids. They should have known better. And he had a feeling Charlotte had snuck out to Hogsmeade before.

"I'm very disappointed in you. You can stay here for the night and you're grounded for two weeks. You have classes and you come straight back here. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Uncle." Harry said sadly.

"Then off to bed with you."

Harry trudged off to bed, feeling very sorry for himself.

...

The next morning at breakfast Charlie scanned Hufflepuff table for Harry. Not spotting him, she ate hurriedly and rushed outside. Hermione and Ron followed her and there they spotted Harry making his way to Hagrid's hut for class.

"Hey!" Ron called as they jogged over. "Why weren't you at breakfast?"

Harry winced. "Uncle Remus was pretty mad with me. I'm grounded for two weeks and I can only spend classes with you guys."

"I'm really sorry," Charlie said. "I shouldn't have been so careless."

"Well, my troubles don't matter at the moment. Hagrid's, however, does." Harry pointed out.

Hagrid was standing like a statue, staring vacantly off into space. Hermione gently prodded him. "Hagrid, we're really sorry. But don't worry; we'll help you with the appeal."

"My fault," Hagrid muttered. "I kep' droppin' the notes yeh gave me, Hermione. Couldn' stop stammerin' an' I go' intimidated by all those Committee member's..." He pulled out a handkerchief and honked loudly into it. "Yeh were grea', Ron. Bu' Buckbeak doesn' stand a chance..."

"Don't think like that!" Charlie exclaimed. "We'll show Lucius Malfoy whose boss!"

Hagrid sighed heavily. "Don' bother...Malfoy's already go' the jury on 'is side. Bu' I'll make the las' few days Buckbeak's greatest." He let out a sob and headed over to the majestic creature tied up by Hagrid's hut. Behind them, Pansy snickered. "He is _such _a baby! Look at him sob!"

Charlie gritted her teeth and turned around to say something. She faltered as Hermione suddenly stormed over to them, raised her fist and caught Pansy across the face. Harry yelped and grabbed hold of her arm before she could deck Draco.

"Let me go!" She shrilled. "He deserves one as well!"

Completely stunned, Pansy slowly climbed to her feet and stumbled off. Draco stared at them all in shock before rushing after her. Hermione fumed, her fists clenched at her sides and Harry slowly let her go. Ron gaped at her. "That was brilliant!"

"Not necessary," Charlie put in. "But it was pretty cool."

Harry glanced around the rolling lawns. "Um...guys? We're the only ones left."

While Hermione had decked out Pansy, everyone else had gathered up their belongings and headed to their next class. Harry groaned. "McGonagall is going to kill me! Alright, I'm off to Transfiguration. I'll see you guys later." He jogged off towards the castle.

Ron sighed. "We better head off to Charms."

They entered the castle and jogged up the marble staircase. They cautiously entered the classroom and Professor Flitwick eyed them sternly. "You're late, Miss Potter and Mister Weasley. Take out your wands and hurry-we've already started practicing Cheering Charms."

Charlie and Ron took their seats. "Where did Hermione go?" She whispered to him.

"I don't know. She was right beside us! She's been doing that disappearing act of hers all year..." Ron shook his head and pulled out his wand.

Thanks to the charms, the two were in a good mood as they headed to lunch. After a while the mood faded away and Charlie frowned in worry. "Gee, I wonder where she is."

She pushed her plate away and got up. She headed to her Common Room and found Hermione asleep at one of the tables, books and papers strewn everywhere. Charlie scratched her chin and stared at her. "Hermione! Wake up!" Charlie whispered, poking her.

Hermione stirred and slowly sat up, blinking blearily. "What class do we have now?"

"Divination in twenty minutes," Charlie said. "Er...how come you weren't Charms?"

The bushy-haired girl gasped in horror. "I missed Charms class? Oh no! We were doing Cheering Charms today! Professor Flitwick must be terribly upset with me! I must go apologize!" She gathered up her books and bag and took off. Charlie sighed in exasperation before heading off to Divination.

She had gotten used to the daily death predictions and it was often her favourite part of the day, seeing how much fun she had making up stories and predictions with Ron and Harry. She entered the perfume-scented room and sat down on her usual cushion beside Ron and Harry. Hermione scurried up the ladder minutes later and collapsed beside them.

On every table was a crystal ball with a white mist floating inside. Professor Trelawney came out from the shadows and spoke in her usual dreamy voice. Everything she said was basically about her Inner Eye and how to See properly. Charlie had trouble concentrating on what she was saying, as Ron was biting his knuckles to keep from giggling and she was trying very hard not to burst into laughter alongside him.

And so a good portion of the class was spent peering into the crystal ball and staring at nothing. "Do you guys see anything?" Harry whispered after a while.

Ron snickered. "Yeah. We're going to have lots of fog tonight."

All three of them burst into helpless laughter. Professor Trelawney huffed at them. "Now, really!" She stepped over to them and peered into their crystal ball. Charlie tilted her head to the ceiling and wondered what sort of death she would experience now.

"My dear, I can see it clearly. It is the Grim-"

"Not _that _again!" Hermione said hotly. "It's just ridiculous!"

Professor Trelawney straightened up. **"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my **_**dear**_**, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly Mundane."**

A horrible silence filled the room. Hermione gritted her teeth and jumped up, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Fine! I don't need this rubbish anyhow!" She stormed over to the trapdoor and left the classroom.

Professor Trelawney turned away and went over to help Lavender. Harry sighed. "I wish I had the guts to do that."

...

Easter holidays meant mountains of homework. Ron, Charlie and Hermione spent the majority of their time in the library working on it. Since Hermione had so much on her plate, Ron was working diligently on the appeal. Charlie contributed when she could and Harry would slip them his notes in class.

What really twisted Charlie's stomach was the upcoming Quidditch Final. Scarlet was going into overdrive, scheduling practices left and right and forcing them to do game play after game play. Their match was against the Slytherins, and they often tried to instigate fights in the corridors. Charlie was soon escorted everywhere by a crowd of people. The paranoia got to her and she found herself hurrying to her Common Room to see if her Firebolt was still in her trunk.

"We can do this," Scarlet said one practice. "We can totally do this! We got the best team ever! We can...we can..."

Eliza and Danny escorted Scarlet back to the castle for a Calming Drought. Charlie blinked. "I'm going to be scared for my life if we lose."

"You better be scared for your life if we lose," Tommy muttered. "I don't want to endure Scarlet's craziness for nothing, you know."

The night before the big match Charlie tossed and turned. She finally crawled out of bed and leaned against the window sill, staring at the starry sky. Something moving caught her eye and she turned toward it. Crookshanks slunk from the shadows and Charlie rolled her eyes. Then her heart stopped.

A giant black dog jogged out from the brush. Crookshanks followed it happily and Charlie gaped at them until they were out of sight. Stunned, she slowly crawled back into bed.

"Well...I'm going to die tomorrow."

...

Charlie barely ate any breakfast the next morning. As she left to get herself ready, she caught Snape's eye. He nodded curtly to her and she smiled faintly back.

The stands were packed. Every student and every teacher had come to see this event. The Ravenclaws filed onto the pitch and the Slytherins booed. The Slytherins came onto the pitch and everyone else booed. Charlie gripped her broomstick and tried to calm the pounding of her heart. Scarlet had been agitated to give a pep talk and simply told them all what _not _to do.

Madame Hooch blew her whistle and they all shot into the air. Ravenclaw took immediate control of the Quaffle until it was taken from Tommy by Derrick from Slytherin whacking him in the head with his Bludger bat.

Charlie knew it was going to be an interesting game.

Sure enough, penalties were being given left and right. Danny accidentally crashed into Bole and received a whack in the face. Tommy kicked Flint in the gut when he had the Quaffle. Charlie ducked to avoid the speeding Bludgers and kept an eye on Malfoy. Lee swore whenever Slytherin pulled a dirty trick and had to wrestle his magical microphone away from McGonagall.

Madame Hooch was getting fed up with the lot of them.

Charlie finally spotted a golden flicker on the other side of the pitch. Unfortunately, they weren't at fifty points as Scarlet instructed. So she faked Malfoy out and pulled out of a steep dive, also causing the two Slytherin Beaters to crash into each other.

Aurora laughed loudly. "Nice one!"

Eliza had the Quaffle gripped in her hand as she sped towards the Slytherin goal. Aurora and Clancy prevented the other Beaters from getting her and Eliza scored.

They were past fifty points.

The golden flicker still where she had left it, Charlie sped towards it. She reached out a hand to grab the Snitch when there was a hard jolt on her broom and she was yanked back. The Snitch darted from her reach and out of sight.

Furious, she turned around and glowered at Malfoy, who had an iron grip on her Firebolt. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and screamed at them shrilly. Danny got to do the penalty and he scored.

A minute later Tommy got possession of the Quaffle. The Chasers and the Beaters swarmed towards him. Charlie bent low and rocketed for them, making them scatter and allowing Tommy a clear path. He scored and Charlie high-fived him as he passed.

Then she saw something terrible.

Malfoy; shooting for a golden glimmer on the other side of the pitch.

Charlie wasted no time and raced after him. She bent as low as she could and she reached his ankles just as his hand stretched for the Snitch. The broom moved close enough for her to whack his arm aside and snag the Snitch for herself. She shot higher into the air and blinked.

She had gotten the Snitch.

Ravenclaw won the Quidditch Cup.

Screams erupted from her teammates as they caught sight of the golden orb clutched in her hand. Scarlet was the first one to reach her. She tackled her in a hug and sobbed into her shoulder. Charlie grinned and patted her on the back as Eliza, Danny, Clancy, Tommy and Aurora crushed them into a group hug, all of them screaming loudly.

Ravenclaws poured onto the pitch, shouting victoriously and celebrating. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were screaming as loud as they could and some spilled onto the pitch. The Ravenclaw team sank to the ground and found them being hoisted onto shoulders. Charlie spotted Hagrid, who beamed proudly at her. "I knew yeh could do it!"

Lee was dancing around the commentator's booth. Penelope Clearwater raced up to Percy and grinned smugly at him before hugging him tight. Professor Flitwick clapped hard, a proud smile on his face and tears forming in his eyes.

Ron, Hermione and Harry (who had been allowed to see the match) rushed over as she was finally set on the ground. They tackled her into a hug just as Scarlet accepted the gleaming Quidditch Cup from Dumbledore. He patted her fondly on the back and Scarlet beamed a watery smile.

If any Dementors had dared come to the pitch, Charlie was certain she would have fired off the best Patronus in the world.


	14. Uncomforting Prediction

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Uncomforting Prediction**

Although Charlie was still ecstatic about her Quidditch win, her mood was slightly dampened by the upcoming exams. Hermione was in a complete tizzy, her books and notes strewn all over the common room tables as she frantically tried to cram as much knowledge into her head as possible. Charlie caught a glimpse at her exam schedule and arched an eyebrow. The girl was taking two exams at the exact same time.

Curious as to how such a thing was possible (Charlie figured that perhaps Hermione _had _had two classes at the same time every day) she decided to investigate.

The bushy-haired girl had made odd appearances throughout the year. One moment she would be walking alongside Charlie and next she would be scurrying down the stairs, breathless. Various students from Hermione's Muggle Studies class said that she had been present at every one. This was odd, considering that Hermione had Charms at the exact same time and she had been present for all of _those _classes (with the exception of one, of course).

The library was indeed the place with all the answers. Charlie browsed the shelves, wondering what she should be looking for.

"Hey, Charlie."

Charlie turned towards the voice and spotted Ron sitting at one of the tables with his Potions book. "Hey! How's the studying going?"

Ron scowled. "My brain feels like it's going to explode. What are you doing?"

"Well, you know how Hermione seems to have acquired this disappearing act?"

"Yeah and how she's apparently been attending two classes at the same time." Ron nodded.

"I want to know what's going on. So I thought I may find the answer in here." Charlie gestured towards the stretch of books. "The problem is I don't know where to start."

Ron looked thoughtful. "The only way Hermione could be attending two classes at the same time is if she is going _back _in time to do so."

Charlie gaped. "Is that even possible in the wizarding world? 'Cause it isn't in the Muggle world."

"Mind you, I've only heard rumours, but the Ministry has these things called Time-Turners. My dad has heard of them because he works there, and they're for only really special circumstances. They don't just hand them out willy-nilly." Ron offered.

"Hermione would probably have needed to keep that a secret so that no one else could pest the professors for one." Charlie mused. "Wow, your world has everything! How come you didn't mention the Time-Turner before?"

"In retrospect, it was rather obvious." Ron said sheepishly. "And I kind of forgot about them until you brought up the possibility of time travel."

Charlie clapped her hands. "Well! That's one mystery solved. We'll keep it a secret so Hermione doesn't get in trouble and we'll make sure she doesn't know we know."

Ron sighed. "I guess it's back to studying." He peered longingly out the window at the crisp green grass and crystal blue skies. "Could we possibly study outside for a bit?"

"We can't. Sirius Black, remember?" Charlie pointed out. The man had been in her thought the last couple of days, along with the possible Grim and the fact her Cloak was resting at the bottom of the stone slid in the secret passage of the one-eyed witch statue.

"But it's really nice out! We could just pop out to the lake over the hill and study for a bit." Ron pleaded.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Charlie warned.

"I'm going anyway. I'm going to go mad!" Ron grabbed his books and left the library. Charlie bit her lip and hastily hurried after him. It was obvious he wasn't going to change his mind, and she really didn't want to tattle on him. And she _really _didn't want to let him study outside alone.

Ron smiled brightly when she caught up. "Brilliant! It'll be fine, really."

They managed to slip out of the castle without anyone noticing and Charlie grew anxious as they headed further away. They climbed down the rocky slope that dipped down to the lake and sat along the water's edge. The castle torrents were all that was visible. "We really shouldn't be so far away from sight."

Ron just grinned and pulled out his Potions book. Charlie slid up next to him and together the two read various passages, occasionally quizzing one another. They did not pay attention to the gradually setting sun and by the time Ron packed the books away, it was well into supper time. "Bugger..." Charlie muttered. "We stayed out later than we should have."

"We'll just slip back into the castle." Ron said. "The Dementors are only guarding the gates."

Charlie's green eyes widened as she peered over his shoulder. "It seems they also patrol the grounds during sunset."

Indeed, three Dementors were swarming towards the two youths. Charlie yanked out her wand and tried to cast a Patronus like she had a few Quidditch matches ago. Unfortunately, nothing but silver wisp came out of her wand and Ron was frozen. Cold swept over Charlie and her heart pounded as the Dementors came closer.

_Do something, Potter!_

As Charlie raised her wand to try again, something bright and silvery came charging at the trio of Dementors. The two kids shut their eyes against the light and slowly opened them again. The Dementors were gone, and one very furious Professor Snape stood in front of them.

He motioned for them to follow and they did. Snape kept his eyes out for more Dementors as they headed for the castle. Charlie and Ron eyed each other nervously as they followed the Potions professor to his own office. Ron offered Charlie the only seat and she took it, shooting the ginger a grateful smile.

Snape glowered at them. "Would one of you please tell me why you were outside, a distance away from the castle, at a time when you're _not supposed to step one foot outside the castle doors_?"

"We just wanted to study outside the castle," Charlie explained. "We were planning on coming in earlier, really!"

"Has it not penetrated your thick skull yet?" Snape demanded. "There is a serial killer after you, Miss Potter, and it is crucial that you not leave this castle! And you, Mister Weasley, were already attacked by Black once. Has it ever occurred to you that he may aim to finish the job?"

Ron turned pale and rubbed his stitched-up shoulder. "Sir, it wasn't Charlie's fault. She warned me it was a bad idea but I went anyway. She just came to make sure nothing would happen to me."

"And lo and behold, something almost did." Snape drawled. "The two of you nearly got your souls sucked out by the Dementors. Since the two of you seem to lack common sense, you will both spend the next few evenings in detention with me. Starting tomorrow; right after dinner."

"Yes sir," the two kids chorused.

"Do anything idiotic like that again, and the consequences will be dire."

...

Ron and Charlie entered the Great Hall for a quick bite of supper. Charlie joined Hermione and her bushy-haired friend shot her a frown. "Where were you?"

"Studying outside with Ron," she answered. "Professor Snape saved us from some Dementors and gave us detention."

"How could you be so stupid?" Hermione cried.

"I know, I know. Some Ravenclaw I'm turning out to be. And I couldn't even conjure up my Patronus this time..." Charlie sighed and grabbed some garlic bread. "Where you studying the entire time too?"

"Yes, and then an owl arrived with a letter for us." Hermione held out a piece of parchment and Charlie skimmed over it. A gasp of horror escaped her lips.

"Why are they bringing an executioner to Buckbeak's appeal?" Charlie demanded, slamming the letter to the table.

Hermione looked forlorn. "It seems as if they've already made up their mind."

Ron was outraged when Charlie told him about the letter. "They're not even giving him a chance? That's not right!"

It wasn't. But what could they do about it?

...

Exams had begun and as each one passed, Hermione loosened up a little more. Charlie was pretty proud of how she preformed and the time Ron spent in the library studying was paying off. The kids tried to talk to Hagrid during their Care of Magical Creature exam, but he was too depressed to speak with them and spent the majority of the time with Buckbeak.

As they were heading down the corridor for their next exam, they ran into Cornelius Fudge. It was rather worrying to see that he had brought the executioner with him, and Charlie would have asked why he brought him to the appeal if she hadn't had to help Hermione stop Ron from saying something offending.

Harry joined Ron and Charlie later that day for their Divination exam. All three of them were uncertain of what to expect and no student was telling them what the exam was about when they came down the ladder. Finally, Ron was next and by the time he came down, he was nearly shaking with laughter.

"What?" Harry asked anxiously.

Ron chuckled. "She said I did excellent. Honestly, I just made the stuff up."

Giggling, Charlie climbed the ladder when Professor Trelawney called her name. The room was thick with a cloud of perfume, and the professor sat behind one of the low tables. Charlie perched on one of the cushions and stared at the crystal ball in front of her.

"Go on, dear. Tell me what you see."

Charlie stared at the swirling fog. Well, if Ron could make stuff up, why couldn't she? "I see...a dark form. It's...in the shape of a hippogriff."

Professor Trelawney sat up straighter. "Go on! You might very well be seeing the outcome of the trial to come this afternoon! Is the hippogriff squirming on the ground, with no head?"

_Geez, lady, you need to start thinking happier thoughts. _"Let's see...it seems Buckbeak has lost its foot. Yes...the executioner swung the axe...and Buckbeak jerked itself out of the way. The axe sliced through the rope and his foot, but he's alive. Hagrid is weeping as Buckbeak takes off...trailing blood behind him."

_Yikes. Maybe I need to start thinking happier thoughts as well._

Professor Trelawney looked so astounded Charlie had to bite back a laugh. "That was incredible, darling! You and Mister Weasley have the makings of true Seers. I wonder if Mister Lupin shares that with you...a pity Miss Granger did not."

"Thank you, Professor." Charlie got up and started for the trapdoor.

**"**_**It will happen tonight."**_

Charlie froze and slowly turned around. "I beg your pardon?"

Professor Trelawney was slumped back, her eyes rolling back and her voice deep and serious. Concerned, Charlie was about to call for Ron to get Madame Pomfrey when she spoke again.

"_**The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master..."**_

Professor Trelawney sat up and blinked. "Oh, terribly sorry. I must have nodded off. You may go now, dear."

Charlie opened her mouth and then shut it again. She realized that Professor Trelawney had made a real prophecy and was not aware of it. Nodding silently, she climbed down the ladder, where she found Harry awaiting his turn.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

"Nope. Just awaiting death...again."

...

Charlie sat in the library with Harry, who was risking spending time with her until Hermione and Ron joined them. Ron had gone off to look for the girl after his Divination exam and said they would meet them in the library.

Soon enough the two walked in, both had eyes wet with tears. Harry groaned. "What's happened?"

Hermione wiped her eyes. "Hagrid's just owled me. Buckbeak lost the appeal. He's going to be executed at sunset."

There was too much death in the air for Charlie's liking.


	15. Complicating Matters

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Complicating Matters**

"We need to go see him." Ron said firmly.

"But we can't!" Charlie protested. "We're not allowed outside at this time! And I'll be in so much trouble if I get caught again."

"Uncle Remus will kill me!" Harry added. "I'm not even supposed to be here with you guys right now!"

"I'm going with Ron."

Ron, Charlie and Harry gaped at Hermione, who had her lips pursed stubbornly. "Hagrid needs us, and we can't abandon him now. Charlie, where is your Cloak?"

"I...left it at the bottom of the one-eyed statue." Charlie answered. "You just tap the hump and say _Dissendium_."

"I'll go get the Cloak and you guys can wait here for me." Hermione ordered and she left the library. Harry and Charlie stared at each other in bewilderment. Ron, however, grinned.

"I think I'm being a good influence on her."

...

And so the four kids made their way across the grounds, keeping an eye out for Dementors and moving as quickly as possible. They could see Buckbeak tied to the fence surrounding Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Hermione rapped on the door and Hagrid, eyes red from crying, answered.

"It's us," she whispered. "We're under the Cloak!"

"I told yeh not teh come!" Hagrid croaked as the four made their way into his cozy hut. Fang greeted them enthusiastically and the large man slumped onto his couch, fresh sobs emerging from his throat.

Harry and Charlie went to comfort him while Ron and Hermione bustled to make some tea. "Are you sure we can't do anything, Hagrid?" Ron asked as he gathered some cups.

"No' even Dumbledore can help," he muttered. "Lucius Malfoy is teh big an influence..." Another sob broke free and he buried his face in his hands. Hermione felt tears rise up in her own eyes and she reached quickly for the milk with one hand and wiped her wet eyes with the sleeve of her other arm. The milk slipped from her grip and toppled to the counter, milk dripping to the wooden floor.

"Oh, for-RON!"

The ginger jumped in surprise and whirled around. He stared at Hermione, who was gaping at the floor in amazement. He followed her gaze and was shocked to find his rat-_Scabbers_-crawling through the milk and trying to get away. "Where did he come from?"

"He must have been hiding in the milk jug!" Hermione said in awe. "There was only a little bit left, not much at all-oh, but then what did Crookshanks-?"

Distant voices could be heard nearing the hut and the four kids froze. Hagrid jumped up and strode to the window. "Dumbledore! An' the Minister! Yeh lot better get a move on-I don' wan' yeh teh see this, an' yeh shouldn't even be out here, Charlie. Yeh'll be in big trouble if Dumbledore an' the Minister catch yeh."

Aware that there was nothing they could do, Charlie swung the Cloak around them and Ron kept a tight grip on Scabbers, who was struggling ferociously. "What's wrong with you, you idiot?" Ron asked crossly.

"Quiet!" Hermione hissed as they slipped out of the hut and away from the approaching group. It was difficult to move with four people, and they kept tripping over each other, and Ron's curses weren't helping matters. "For Merlin's sake Ron! _Be quiet!_"

"Scabbers is going mad!" Ron snapped back. "I don't know what's wrong with him!"

Then, without warning, their came the unmistakable sound of an axe swishing through the air, and a muffled _thud. _Hagrid's wail was heart wrenching, and Hermione pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her own cries of anguish.

Charlie closed her eyes. It wasn't fair. They had worked very hard to work up a good debate _and _appeal for Hagrid, but one threat from Lucius Malfoy was all it took to make their attempts futile. "Come on. As much as I want to go back, we can't. The sun is already setting and if anyone catches us, we'll be in huge trouble."

Indeed, the last rays of orangey-red were fading from the sky, darkness beginning to settle around them. They walked on silently until Ron accidently elbowed Harry in the face, trying to get Scabbers under control. "_Ouch! _Ron, what's wrong with your rat?"

"He's going bonkers!" Ron tried desperately to keep his hold and Harry noticed a pair of yellow eyes gleaming from the shadows. His heart pounded for the briefest of moments before Crookshanks large form slunk towards them.

"Oh, geez..." he muttered. "Murderous cat straight ahead."

Hermione winced. "Not _now _Crookshanks! Go away! Oh, who let him out of the Common Room?"

Scabbers managed to break free from Ron and hit the ground. He took off with the cat in pursuit, and Ron raced out from under the Cloak and hurried after them, swearing all the way. Hermione groaned and rushed after the ginger.

"Uncle Remus is going to kill me..." Harry muttered as he and Charlie ran after the rest, the Cloak streaming behind them. "I shouldn't have snuck out..."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Charlie muttered.

"Don't say things like that!"

They finally caught up to Hermione and Ron, the latter of which was holding onto Scabbers once more and holding Crookshanks back with his foot. "Get away, you stupid cat!"

Harry stumbled up to them and bent over, panting. "Can-we-go-now?" He wheezed.

"Professor Dumbledore and the Minster will be coming this way soon!" Charlie added. "Hermione, grab Crookshanks and let's _get out of here!_"

Hermione reached for the large ginger cat and froze. The sound of large paws pounding across the grounds reached her ears and she turned around. A shriek escaped her lips and the others turned to see what her sensitive ears had picked up.

A large, pale-eyed, shaggy black dog was charging towards them. Charlie reached for her wand but the dog was too fast. It leaped for her and planted its massive paws against her chest, pushing her to the ground. It tumbled off of her and quickly got back up for another attack.

Ron scrambled to his feet but was brought down again by what Charlie decided to call the Grim. The Grim clamped its teeth around Ron's leg and dragged him towards a large gap in the roots of the tree. Harry and Charlie started for them, but something struck them across the face.

"What the-?" Charlie kept one hand over her bleeding lip and stared at the madly swinging branches above them.

"The Whomping Willow..." Hermione whispered, shrinking to the ground to avoid being whacked.

Harry moaned in fear and pain, his nose bleeding heavily.

Ron had completely disappeared now, having been dragged away by the Grim. Charlie, Harry and Hermione stayed pressed to the ground to avoid being smacked by the Willow.

"Okay..." Charlie muttered. "Here are our options; all of us go in after them-"

"I'd rather not," Harry squeaked.

"-Someone goes back for help while the rest of us go to help Ron-"

"Er...not too fond of that one, considering we shouldn't be out here in the first place..." Harry once more added his opinion.

"OR-"Charlie shot Harry a glare. "We all go to get help and risk the chance Ron gets eaten by the Grim."

"The Grim?" Harry cried.

Charlie shrugged. "It looks like the Grim, doesn't it?"

Hermione crawled over to them and hesitated, her eyes darting around frantically. "Oh, forget about the Grim! Look, I suppose I'll be the one to go get help...and do be careful!"

Harry snorted. "Easier said than done! How are we supposed to get past the Willow?"

The answer came in the form of Crookshanks, who walked up to the Willow and touched a knot in its trunk. The Willow instantly went still, as if it had been Petrified. Herimione gaped. Charlie shook her head. "Well, thanks, I guess."

Crookshanks seemed to nod at her before slinking through the gap. Hermione decided that she couldn't take any more and raced back to the castle to get help. Charlie and Harry took out their wands and crawled through the gap between the roots.

"Where does this thing lead to?" Harry asked, panting heavily as they waddled through the narrow passageway.

Charlie frowned thoughtfully. "Fred and George said this one leads to the Shrieking Shack, but they don't use it because of the Whomping Willow."

After a few more minutes of back-burning crawling, they finally came upon the exit. Harry climbed out first and assisted Charlie. Covered in dirt and shaking with nerves, the two surveyed the room they had emerged into. It was **a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it.**

Harry gestured towards an open door. They slipped through it and crept down a narrow, shadowy hallway. There was a creak from upstairs and Harry eyed the hazardous staircase warily. Charlie dragged him up the rotted steps to the second floor and down another dark hallway.

They finally came upon another door. From behind it, they could hear a pained moan. Glancing at each other, they both put their wands at the ready and kicked the door open.

In the middle of room sat a rather impressive four-poster bed with ratty hangings. Ron was slumped beside it, moaning in pain and clutching his leg, which was stuck out at an odd angle. Crookshanks was curled at the end of the bed, purring contentedly.

Harry and Charlie rushed to Ron. "Are you alright?" Charlie asked in concern.

Ron gritted his teeth. "It's a trap!"

"What do you mean?"

"The dog...it's not a real dog! He's an _Animagus_!"

The door slammed shut behind them and they whirled around. Charlie's green eyes widened upon seeing who was responsible for all of this.

**A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.**

Harry squeaked in fear and shrunk back as Charlie raised her wand. Sirius Black was quick and cried, _"Expelliarmus!"_

Two wands shot into the air and landed in his outstretched hand. Sirius Black surveyed them for a moment. "I was hoping you'd come and help your friend. It was what your father would have done for me..." A slow smile curled across his thin face.

Furious, Charlie lost her common sense and started forwards. Harry and Ron grabbed hold of her arms and pushed her back. "It's not worth it!" Harry hissed in her ear.

Ron glared at Black. "If you're going to kill Charlie, then you're going to have to kill all three of us!" His leg burned with a pain and he winced.

Sirius Black stared at the loyalty shining in the redhead's eyes. Something flickered in his dark orbs and he said, "You're going to damage that leg even more if you don't lie down."

Although Ron didn't want to, he didn't struggle much when Harry and Charlie immediately eased him onto the bed and righted his leg as best they could. "All three of us," he repeated weakly.

Sirius Black shook his head. "There will be only one murder tonight."

Harry scowled. "You didn't care when you killed all those Muggles and Pettigrew." He said in disgust. Although he enjoyed his life with Uncle Remus, it was because of this man he grew up without his sister and their true parents. And that was unforgivable.

Charlie stared at Harry to silence him. She was furious, but making Black mad was not a wise move.

Unfortunately, Ron decided to do something very stupid (and perhaps Gryffindor-ish). He grabbed Crookshanks, who yowled in protest, and flung the cat at Black's head.

...yes, Ron Weasley attacked Sirius Black with a cat.

Charlie pressed her fingers against her forehead as Sirius Black stumbled backwards, swearing. Harry leapt forwards and grabbed hold of the wrist holding their wands. It was very brave for the Hufflepuff, and Charlie wondered if Ron was starting to rub off on them.

A shower of sparks missed Harry's face by inches. Crookshanks was furious and his claws were swiping everywhere. Ron managed to jump into the fray, grabbing hold of Black's wand arm. He got a rather vicious cut from Crookshanks, and Charlie shoved Black off of Harry and made a dive for her own wand.

Crookshanks tried to slice her hand but Harry kicked him aside. He grabbed his and Ron's wands and the ginger climbed shakily back onto the bed, his face green.

Black was slumped against the wall. He stared at Charlie with those dark eyes. Charlie twirled the wand in her hand and stared coldly back at him. "I ought to kill you here and now. You killed my parents."

"I won't argue with you, but if you knew the whole story..." Black said softly.

Charlie scowled. "What more is there? You gave up my parents locations to Voldemort-"Ron inhaled sharply. "-sorry, _You-Know-Who_-and got them killed!"

"You must hear me out! There's more to this story than you think and you'll regret it if you kill me now without hearing it." Sirius said urgently.

Crookshanks suddenly stalked by Charlie and settled himself over Black's chest. Sirius tried to push him off, but he stayed, staring determinedly up at Charlie.

The girl cast an exasperated glance at the ceiling. No, she would not kill Crookshanks-it would devastate Hermione. And if she were to be perfectly honest, she would not have been able to kill Black.

Sudden footsteps pounded above. Harry screamed, "DOWN HERE! WITH SIRIUS BLACK! COME QUICK!"

The door burst open in a shower of red sparks...and in stormed Remus Lupin.

...

Just as Harry and Charlie made it into the Shrieking Shack, a breathless Hermione made it up to the castle. Doubled over, she gripped the stone steps and took heaving gasps to get air back to her lungs. Her lip and shoulder were bleeding something fierce and she was close to tears. She was beginning to wonder if they would ever go a year without nearly getting killed...

Taking another quick breath she charged into the castle. Her footsteps echoed throughout the corridors as she ran straight for Lupin's office. She hammered on the door and a startled voice called, "Come in!"

Hermione tumbled into the room. Lupin took one look at her and sprang from his chair. A stack of papers were piled in front of him and it seemed he had not left his office in a while-which meant he probably didn't realize Harry had snuck out.

"Hermione!" Lupin exclaimed. "What's happened? Has someone brawled against you? Here, sit down and tell me-"

"No time!" Hermione cried. "Listen, I don't quite know why or what or...anything really, but Harry, Charlie, Ron and I snuck out to see Hagrid and we found Scabbers hiding in the milk jug. Then we left because the Minster and Dumbledore were arriving with the executioner and then Scabbers ran away and we chased after him." She took a large breath before continuing on, trying to ignore Lupin's furious and concerned expression. "But then this shaggy black dog ran up and attacked us and dragged Ron towards the Whomping Willow and-"

"Stop!" Lupin suddenly ordered. A strange expression crossed his face. "Where are Charlotte and Harry?"

"They...went after Ron."

Lupin rushed over to his drawer and pulled out the Map. He scanned it for what seemed like forever before lowering it slowly, the strange expression turning to a very odd one.

"Hermione, go see Madame Pomfrey right away, and I _need _you to keep this a secret-promise me!"

Mystified but too anxious about the safety of her friends to argue, she nodded. Lupin ushered her out of his office before taking off and Hermione managed to find her way to the infirmary.

"Merlin!" Pomfrey exclaimed when Hermione stumbled in. "What happened to you, child?"

The stress of the evening caught up to her and she burst into tears. Pomfrey brought her to a cot and spoke soothingly, gently guiding a vile of Calming Drought to her mouth. Hermione guzzled it down and it was just before she passed out she realized that it was the night of a full moon...

...

Relief coursed through Charlie. She didn't mind when Lupin called all the wands towards him, she was too happy that they were saved. Lupin stared at Sirius for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Where is he?"

Sirius pointed at Ron. The kids exchanged looks of confusion and bewilderment. What was going on?

"But...why? Why hasn't he...?" Lupin muttered, running a hand through his hair and pacing about. He stopped suddenly and turned to Sirius with wide eyes. "Unless _he _was actually the one and you both switched and didn't tell me about it..."

Sirius nodded. Charlie blinked. "Professor Lupin, what is-?"

Lupin suddenly walked over to Black and helped him to his feet. Then he embraced him. Charlie gaped for a few moments before pressing her hand to her forehead. She was slightly hurt that Lupin was friends with the murderer of her parents, but Lupin had been best friends with Sirius Black a while ago...

And, yes, she decided that perhaps she was missing something. Something important.

"You've been friends with him all this time?" Harry asked in despair.

Lupin's face softened. "Not for twelve years, pup, but now, yes."

"Have you been helping Sirius get inside the castle?" Charlie demanded. "Well, have you, _werewolf?_"

Lupin froze and Ron and Harry gaped at her. Charlie crossed her arms and glared. Lupin, who was rather calm, shook his head. "You're normally right on the mark, but not this time. I haven't been helping Sirius Black inside the castle, but I _am _a werewolf."

Harry turned to stare at Charlie. "How long have you known?" He whispered.

"Since the essay Professor Snape gave us," she replied. "And then there was the fact Professor Lupin's Boggart turned into a full moon, and yours a werewolf."

Lupin chuckled. "You and Hermione are truly the smartest witches of your age."

Charlie frowned. "Not that smart, or we would have had all this figured out."

"Will you let me explain?" Lupin asked. Seeing the doubt on their faces, he tossed them their wands.

"There, you're armed. Now may I explain?"

Charlie nodded slowly.

"Well, when Hermione came to tell me what was going on, I took a look at the Marauders Map to see if it was true-"

"How do you know how to work the map?" Ron asked harshly.

"I helped write it," Lupin explained. "I'm Moony. Anyway, I looked at the map and saw that the lot of you were in the Shrieking Shack and looking closer I saw something else. I thought the map was having a glitch, I couldn't believe it. **How could he be with you?**"

Charlie was baffled. "What do you mean?"

"Ron...can I see that rat of yours?" Lupin asked.

Ron scowled. "Why?"

"I need to see it. He has everything to do with this."

Ron slowly pulled Scabbers out from his shirt and he immediately started thrashing. Lupin bent down and examined him closely. "I don't believe it..."

"Believe what?" Ron asked impatiently.

"That rat," Sirius croaked, "is no rat at all. He's really a wizard...an _Animagus _by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

**Whew! Sorry for the wait! I've been hit by a bout of writers block recently, so I hope this chapter is decent :P**


	16. Explanations

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Explanations**

"**You're both mental."**

Charlie had to agree with Ron on that one. The ginger was currently clutching his furiously squirming rat to his chest protectively. "In case you've forgotten, you killed Peter Pettigrew twelve years ago," she pointed out.

Sirius smiled wickedly. "I meant to. I didn't expect little Peter to actually get the better of me. But this time, he'll pay." He got to his feet and launched himself at Ron. Lupin restrained Black from getting any closer and held him back.

"You're not helping matters, Sirius! They need to understand what's going on." Lupin said firmly. "Ron's kept Scabbers as a pet. Charlie deserves the truth. Even I don't quite understand all of it. We need to give them an explanation."

Reluctantly, Sirius relaxed. But his hollow eyes were still fixed upon the squirming rat. "Fine. But be quick about it. I waited a long time for this."

"You're both mad." Ron shook his head. "Charlie, let's get out of here." He tried to move, but it was difficult with his throbbing leg. Lupin pointed his wand at Scabbers and Harry swallowed a gasp. His uncle wouldn't hurt any of them...he wouldn't allow Black to hurt them.

"Ron, you're going to here this." Lupin said softly. "Make sure you keep your grip on Peter."

"His name is SCABBERS!" Ron yelled. "Guys, let's _go_!"

But Harry plopped down on the scratched, dusty wooden floor. His eyes were locked on his uncle. "I trust him, Ron."

Lupin smiled gratefully down at his charge. Charlie flung her hands in the air in exasperation. Harry looked at her pleadingly. With a heavy sigh the thirteen-year old girl took a seat beside her brother. "In case you've forgotten, there were witnesses that clearly saw Black murder Lupin."

"They saw wrong," Black said viciously, glowering at the rat in Ron's hands.

"Charlotte, the Map does not lie. Even I believed Sirius murdered Peter, but after I saw the Map tonight, I know he's telling the truth. Scabbers is Peter, Charlotte." Lupin said calmly.

Ron was still looking at the two men as if they were insane. Charlie stared at the rat for a moment and allowed her brain think through everything logically. Being an _Animagus _was rare in the wizarding world, from what Professor McGonagall had told them in class. Not everyone wanted to go through the process of becoming one. There was registration involved, and-

Wait...

"Professor Lupin..." Charlie began slowly. "Scabbers can't be Peter."

"Why not?" Lupin asked gently.

"Well, Professor McGonagall told us that every Animagi is registered, and that the Ministry keeps tabs on them all. Hermione looked into it further and discovered that only seven witches and wizards in this century are Animagi. She showed me the list, and Peter's name wasn't on it."

"Bloody Ravenclaws..." Ron muttered. "Making us all look bad..."

Harry rolled his eyes. Charlie ignored the ginger and stared at Lupin, who was chuckling. "You girls never cease to amaze me. You are correct, but what the Ministry doesn't know is that there are three unregistered Animagi running around."

It was like she was struck by a freight train. Charlie's green eyes widened as she stared at Black, who she know realized had been prowling the grounds in the form of the shaggy black dog she believed to be the Grim. She eyed Scabbers warily, starting to accept the possibility of the rat actually being Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form.

"Hurry up!" Sirius snapped impatiently. "I've waited a long time for this, and I don't want to wait any longer."

A sudden _crack _sounded and the door opened of its own accord. Lupin frowned and peered into the landing. "Hmm...No one is there."

"Isn't this place haunted?" Harry asked nervously.

"Actually, the screams and howls the villagers heard from this shack were mine." Lupin closed the bedroom door once more and turned to face them. "That's where the story starts, really. I was a small child when I was bitten by a werewolf, and back then there was no cure. The Wolfsbane Potion Professor Snape makes for me is a very recent discovery. As long as I drink it the week before a full moon, I keep my mind when I transform and can wait it out."

"Before the potion was discovered, however, I became a horrible beast once a month. It seemed impossible that I would ever get to go to Hogwarts. No one wanted their children to be around me. But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he said he didn't see why I couldn't attend so long as they took the necessary precautions."

"The Whomping Willow," Charlie said in realization. "You said the tree was planted the year you came to Hogwarts. It was planted _because _you were coming to Hogwarts, wasn't it?"

Lupin nodded sadly. "The tunnels were constructed for my use. Once a month I would be brought down here to transform and the tree prevented anyone from coming across me while I was in werewolf mode.

"To transform into a werewolf is very painful. As I was separated from humans, I bit and scratched myself. My howls were heard by the villagers, who believed them to be evil spirits and Dumbledore encouraged the rumour. But even with the transformations, I was the happiest I had ever been in my life. I had three wonderful friends...Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and of course, James Potter."

"The relationship I had with my friends is much like the one you have with Hermione, Ron and Harry. You spend so much time together you start to become suspicious when one of them sneaks off once a month."

"Or disappears and reappears a few feet away," Harry muttered under his breath, referring to Hermione's odd disappearing acts.

"I was terrified that they would leave me if they found out the truth. But, like Hermione and you, Charlotte, they discovered my terrible secret. And instead of deserting me, they found out how to make my transformations bearable and even fun. They became Animagi."

"What was my father?" Charlie asked curiously.

Lupin grinned. "He was a stag. He and Sirius were the smartest students in the school. It took them three years, and Peter needed all the help he could get, but they managed it in our fifth year. It's astounding, really, considering how much could have gone wrong."

"How would they becoming Animagi help _you_?" Ron asked.

"You see, werewolves are only a danger to people. Every month they would slip underneath James' Cloak and sneak out of the castle. Peter was the smallest animal, so he would slip through and touch the knot that freezes the tree. With them with me, I became less dangerous. Soon we started sneaking around Hogsmeade and the grounds of Hogwarts. James also gave us the nicknames Padfoot, Wormtail, Moony and he was Prongs."

"The Marauders..." Charlie murmured. "Black is Padfoot, you're Moony, and..." She trailed off and stared at the rat thrashing in Ron's hands.

"Why?"

Lupin turned to look at Harry, who was frowning at him. "You knew Sirius Black was an Animagi. And even when you believed him to be a traitor, you never told anyone. Why?"

A look of self-disgust crossed Lupin's face. "I was a coward. It meant he would find out I betrayed his trust and put others in possible danger. He gave me chance when no one else would. I...I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the castle using the dark arts he would have learned from Voldemort. It seems, in a way, Snape has been right about me all along."

Sirius snapped his neck around to face Lupin. "Snape?" He hissed.

"He's a teacher at Hogwarts, Sirius. He teaches the skills of Potions to Harry, Charlotte, Ron and their other friend Hermione." Lupin informed him. "You see, the reason why Professor Snape loathes me so much is because of a trick Sirius played on him that nearly got him killed...a trick that involved me."

Charlie recalled Professor Snape and Dumbledore mentioning that to her, but the details have never been explained. "What kind of trick?"

"Snape got curious as to where I went every month. He...didn't like us all that much. He once caught Madame Pomfrey leading me out to the Whomping Willow. Sirius thought it would be...funny if he told Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow. If he had ever gone past this house, he would probably be dead. James, once he found out what Sirius had done, came to rescue him. It was a great risk to his life, but they both got to safety. Snape found out what I was, but Dumbledore forbade him from telling anyone."

"Well, that explains why Professor Snape doesn't like you." Charlie mused. "He thought you were in on the joke."

"**That's right," sneered **a familiar, cold voice behind Lupin.

Everyone gaped as Severus Snape pulled the Cloak from his body, wand pointing directly at Lupin.

Charlie only had one thought running through her mind; _Damn it! I don't _need _this right now!_


	17. Forgiveness

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Forgiveness**

Charlie nervously eyed the flowing Cloak dangling between Snape's fingers. Harry shot her a look that clearly said '_thanks a lot'. _The raven-haired girl shrugged helplessly and turned her attention back to her Potions professor. He looked positively delighted-and that couldn't mean good news for them. "Miss Potter, I have to thank you for leaving your Invisibility Cloak by the Whomping Willow. I don't know how I would have gotten in without it."

"_Snape..." _Black hissed. "What are you doing here?"

A cruel smiled curled across Snape's sallow face. "You have your _dear _friend Lupin to thank. I was going to give him potion for tonight and I found his office empty. I happened to look at his desk and lo and behold, there was the map, open. Naturally, I came down here as fast as I could when I saw you darting through the underground tunnels...coming to meet _him_."

Lupin started forward. "Now Severus, you need to-"

"Silence!" Snape snarled, whipping out his wand and pointing it at Sirius, who was still glowering at Snape with the utmost loathing. "One more step, and I swear I will do it."

Charlotte prayed that he wouldn't.

The DADA professor cautiously stepped back, hands held out in front of him. "Calm down. Sirius has a story to tell, and you need to hear it."

"I don't need to hear anything!" Snape snapped. "I know what he did. And I was right about you. Dumbledore wouldn't listen when I told him that you were assisting your good friend Black into the castle. You don't know how much I'm going to enjoy bringing you to the Dementors..."

"Wait!" Black cried with urgency. "You need to listen to what I have to say."

"Are you really going to kill us because of a schoolboy grudge?" Lupin demanded.

Snape's eyes gleamed. "Don't tempt me."

Vine-like ropes shot out from the end of Snape's wand and entwined around Lupin, bringing him to the ground. Sirius started forward but Snape held him back with his wand. As Black was wandless, all he could do was back up and glower. Harry was horrified. "What did you do that for?" He cried, reaching for his own wand.

Charlie hastily reached out and grabbed Harry's wrist, shaking her head warningly. It was bad enough they were caught outside of Hogwarts grounds; they didn't need to add to their record by assaulting a teacher. She would interfere if Snape really went crazy and attempted to kill Lupin.

"Professor," Charlie said carefully. "I really think we shouldn't be so rash."

"I'm disappointed in you, Charlotte." Snape said, never taking his eyes off of Black. "I thought you would be like your mother. You had her brain and her personality. But it seems you're just as disobedient and cocky as your good-for-nothing father."

Charlie was aware this was said to get a rise out of Black rather than her, although she didn't appreciate it. Sirius apparently didn't either, for he lunged for Snape. There was an explosion of light and a heavy _thump_. Charlie slowly lowered her wand and stared at the unconscious Potions professor in disbelief. "I only cast an _Expelliarmus!_"

"Whoops..." Ron muttered. He and Harry both had their wands out and they were still pointed Snape.

"He's gonna kill me..." Charlie muttered under her breath before lowering her wand. Black was staring at them all in slight disbelief as he helped Lupin out of his bindings.

"Look," she said. "We'll listen to what you have to say."

"Charlie!" Ron cried.

Charlie rolled her green eyes. "Ron, if you truly didn't believe them, you wouldn't have helped stop Professor Snape from killing Black."

The ginger opened and closed his mouth, but no response came out. Charlie put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Well?"

Ron scowled and slumped back against the headboard. Charlie turned around to face Black and Remus. "You're saying that Scabbers is really Peter Pettigrew. How did you even know he was here to begin with?"

"That's a fair question," Remus agreed, standing up. "I don't even know the answer to that one."

Black reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a crumpled up newspaper clipping. "During one of Fudge's inspections, he gave me a copy of the _Daily Prophet. _I was closed off from the outside world and took whatever news I could. That's when I spotted this."

He handed the clipping over and Charlie cautiously took it. Harry peered over her shoulder and gasped. "Hey! It's a picture of the Weasleys in Egypt!"

"What?" Ron cried, trying to sit up as best he could. Charlie passed him the black and white picture and the ginger stared at it in shock. Sure enough, it was the same picture he had sent to his friends during the summer. And there was Scabbers, perched on his shoulder. "Okay, so you got a photo of me and my rat. How did you know this was Pettigrew?" He demanded.

Black's eyes narrowed. "I've seen Peter transform many times. I knew it was him instantly. The caption said the boy would be returning to Hogwarts. I knew that's where you were, Charlotte." He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but refrained from doing so. "And take a close look at the picture-Pettigrew is missing a toe."

Ron snorted. "He's always had a missing toe."

But Remus gaped. "No...He cut it off himself?"

Black nodded. "Right before he blew up the street with the wand behind his back. He shouted for everyone to hear that I betrayed Lily and James and then killed all those Muggles just as I raised my wand. He transformed and disappeared into the sewers with the other rats. I will admit that I went mad at that point from disbelief. I could hardly believe what was happening..."

Charlie frowned. "But...someone told me you were muttering in your sleep. You were saying 'Hogwarts' and 'Potter'."

Black looked surprised. "Really? Well, I suppose you can't keep all of your sanity in that place. I was probably muttering 'Hogwarts' and 'Potter' because I was worried Pettigrew might try something."

The show of concern startled her briefly before she remembered that Sirius Black was named her godfather. "If you don't mind me asking..." Charlie asked slowly. "I've heard that it's almost impossible to keep your sanity while in Azkaban. How did you?"

Black smiled grimly. "I knew I was innocent. That thought wasn't a happy one, and so the Dementors couldn't take it from me. The knowledge that I was innocent kept me sane."

Ron still looked unconvinced. Remus shook his head. "Ron, haven't you wondered how a rat could live for twelve years?"

"We've taken good care of him!" Ron protested. But Charlie knew that the rat had been ill since the news that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban.

"You were their Secret-Keeper," Charlie crossed her arms and glared. "Only you had the ability to betray the location of my parents." She could feel rage boiling within her and kept a firm hold on it. Getting angry would accomplish nothing.

Black's eyes turned bright. "I was...but I convinced James to change it to Peter at the last minute. We never told anyone. I thought You-Know-Who wouldn't even think about going after Peter. None of us could have ever guessed Peter would turn to the Dark side."

"Well..." Harry mused out loud. "It explains why you continued breaking into Gryffindor Tower rather than-"

Charlie hastily clamped a hand over his mouth. As much as Black's story was beginning to sound believable, she didn't trust him yet. "Speaking of which, how did you get into the Tower anyway?"

Black patted Crookshanks on the head. "This cat is rather intelligent. He knew what Peter was from the moment he laid eyes on him. When he met me, he knew I was also an Animagus. It took a while, but I gained his trust and he tried bringing Peter to me. When that didn't work, he stole a sheet of passwords for me."

Ron looked outraged. "Wait a minute! You stabbed me in the shoulder that night!"

Black was apologetic. "And I am very sorry about that. You awoke suddenly and scared the Merlin out of me with your scream. I accidently dropped the knife I was going to use to kill Pettigrew and it unluckily landed right in your shoulder. I needed to get out of there, so I took the knife and ran."

"_I_ scared the Merlin out of _you_?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Ron," Lupin cut in, holding out his hand. "The rat, if you please."

Ron frowned. "Are you going to kill him?"

"Yes."

"_No._" Lupin glared at Black. "We're just going to cast a spell on him. If he's a regular rat, we apologize for all of this. If he's really Pettigrew, then yes, we'll kill him."

After a moment's thought, Ron held out the rat, which was thrashing in his grip. Sirius and Lupin raised their wands and cast a spell. Ron dropped Scabbers in surprise when he started to convulse. Charlie and Harry clung to each other and watched with wide eyes as the rat turned into a small man with watery eyes and a pointed nose. "Merlin..." Ron croaked.

Lupin smiled a dangerous smile. "Hello, Pettigrew. It's been a while."

"My friends..." Peter Pettigrew rasped, but he made no move to get near them.

"Now, I don't know if you've been paying attention or not, but I have a few questions for you." Lupin said pleasantly.

"Surely you're not going to believe Sirius! He killed Lily and James, Remus!" Peter cried.

Black snarled and Remus held him back. "Then why, Peter, have you been living as a rat for twelve years?"

"I knew he was going to kill me! I exposed him. It was only a matter of time and I was scared!"

"You knew Sirius would escape from jail when no one else has ever done it before?" Lupin asked with an arched eyebrow. "I find that difficult to believe."

"Mr. Black?"

Sirius jumped. He was obviously not used to being addressed in such a manner. He turned to face Harry, who was staring at Peter in shock. "Yes?"

Harry glanced at him. "How _did _you escape from Azkaban?"

"He used Dark Magic, of course! Tricks learned from-"Peter put in.

"He was asking _me_," Black growled and Peter went silent. "Like I said before, I kept my sanity knowing I was innocent. But what gave me strength came from knowing that Peter was in Hogwarts. After I saw that picture, it was like a fire had been lit within me. The Dementors couldn't put it out, and I was worried that Peter might attempt to harm Charlotte to get in good with Voldemort's supporters."

"That's a lie!" Peter said shrilly. "If anything, I was hiding from the Dark Lord's supporters because I cost them their best spy!"

Sirius' left eye twitched. "You know, I'm surprised I didn't peg you as a spy from the start. You always liked hanging around friends who could protect you."

"Sirius," Remus cut in. "You can deal with him later."

Sirius nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself. "The Dementors can't see, so I turned into a dog one night when they were bringing me food. Animal emotions are different from human emotions and that confused them. I squeezed through the bars and swam to the mainland. I've been spending the year on the Hogwarts grounds as a dog, trying to find a way to get Peter."

Harry bit his lip. "But why hasn't Pettigrew killed Charlie? He's had plenty of opportunities to."

"You see?" Peter cried, seeming rather relieved. "I haven't harmed a hair on that girl's head."

"That's because you never do anything for yourself!" Sirius bellowed. "You've always done what others tell you to do! And you would _never _dare to murder under Albus Dumbledore. You were keeping an ear out, wondering if your old master would return to power and if it was safe to join him."

Sirius then turned to face Charlie. "I would never have betrayed Lily and James," he said thickly. "**I would have died before I betrayed them.**"

And it was then Charlie truly believed him. With a watery smile, she nodded.

Sirius smiled darkly as Peter dropped to his knees in horror. "I think it's time we settled this once and for all."

"Of course." Remus rolled up his sleeves. "Sirius, I am deeply sorry for believing you were a spy."

"Forgiven. Please forgive me for not telling you we switched Secret-Keepers."

"Forgiven."

And as the two men advanced towards Peter with raised wands, Charlie knew there would be no forgiveness for Peter.

The man crawled desperately over to Ron. "Kind master, please don't let them do it!" He latched onto Ron's leg and the ginger winced in pain.

"Get...away...from...me," he rasped. He felt betrayed. The rat he had kept as a pet was a murderer.

"Get your hands off of him," Remus snapped. "And if you even lay a finger on Harry or Charlotte, your death will be as painful as we can make it."

Charlie bit her lip as Peter cowered. The man deserved to die. He had killed her parents and allowed one of his best friends to go to jail. He deserved to die.

...but she wouldn't allow it to be by the hands of her godfather and Harry's uncle.

She inserted herself in between the advancing wizards and the pathetic rat. "Hold on."

Sirius and Remus stared at her in disbelief. "He killed your parents," Sirius protested. "You're standing up for him?"

"I don't want you two to jail for murder," Charlie explained. "Sirius, you're still a wanted man. No one will believe the words of three teenagers and your best friend. We need him to prove that you are innocent. My parents wouldn't have wanted their two best friends to become murderers."

Sirius stared at her for a long moment. "You're a clever girl, Charlotte. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Charlie nodded. "He can spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. And you can call me Charlie, if you want."

Peter clung to her robes. "Wonderful girl! Thank you! Thank you!"

Charlie winced and gingerly pulled away from him. Lupin started forward and used his wand to tie him up. "If you even think about transforming, we will kill you." He threatened.

Peter was face-down, gagged and bound. Remus stepped over him and wrapped Harry up in a hug. Harry clung to him in relief. Remus pulled away after a moment and hurried over to Ron. "How are you doing?"

Ron's face was white. "Ugh..."

"Well, I'm not as good as Madame Pomfrey, but perhaps I can strap it up until we get you to the infirmary."

Some ropes shot out from the tip of his wand and curled around Ron's broken leg, making a splint. Ron cautiously got off the bed and hobbled on one foot.

Charlie bent down and checked Professor Snape's pulse. "He's still alive." She informed, relieved. "But...maybe it would be best if we just carried him back to Hogwarts."

Remus nodded and Charlie levitated Snape with his own wand. Sirius took the wand from her and Ron and Lupin chained themselves to Peter so he wouldn't get away. Crookshanks, looking rather smug, led the way.

Charlie and Harry watched in slight amusement as the cat went down the stairs, followed by Remus, Ron and Pettigrew. Sirius looked like he was having a blast, levitating Snape around like a puppet. The two kids followed behind the group.

Harry chuckled as Ron and his uncle turned sideways in order to go through the tunnel. Charlie walked right behind Sirius and was startled when he addressed her. "Charlie...I don't know if anyone told you this, but I'm your godfather."

Charlie felt her lips twitch as she recalled the first disastrous trip to Hogsmeade. "I may have heard something about that."

"Well, your parents appointed me your guardian should anything happen to you." Sirius said carefully. "I'll understand if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle, but...when my name gets cleared, you could come live with me...if you wanted to."

Charlie gaped at him. "Really?" She asked joyfully. "When can I move in? Where do you live?"

Sirius turned to look at her in surprise. "You really want to come live with me?"

"YES!"

A delighted smile broke across Sirius' face. They soon reached the end of the tunnel and Crookshanks scampered out to touch the knot in the tree. Every clambered out of the tunnel and stood in the middle of the dark grounds, the only light coming from the castle ahead.

Everyone started moving for the castle. Charlie glanced up at the cloudy sky, content. For once in her life, she would have a summer to look forwards to. The clouds parted, revealing a bright full moon. The silvery light bathed the group.

Sirius flung out an arm, stopping Harry and Charlie from moving forwards. Confused, Charlie peered around him and froze. Lupin had gone rigid, his limbs jerking.

"Oh no," Harry whispered in horror. "He hasn't taken his potion..."

"Run!" Sirius ordered.

But Ron was still attached to Lupin and Peter. Charlie started for her best friend but Sirius gave her a firm shove in the other direction. "I'll help him! GO!"

In a second Sirius had turned into the large black dog. Lupin's body lengthened and his teeth grew. Soon he became a full werewolf. He ripped away from his bindings and Sirius tackled him to the ground. Charlie watched in stunned disbelief as Lupin and Sirius attacked each other.

"RON!" Harry cried suddenly.

Charlie shrieked as Pettigrew jumped for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron tried to get it before he did, but his bad leg slowed him down. There a flash of light and Ron crumpled to the ground. Another flash and Crookshanks was sent flying. Charlie whipped out her wand. _"Expelliarmus!"_

The wand flew into her hand and Pettigrew transformed. Harry and Charlie lunged for him but it was no use. He was already scampering through the tall grass. Charlie swore loudly, climbing to her feet just as Lupin howled and ran towards the Forest. Sirius, who was bleeding heavily, shook himself off and ran after him.

Charlie ran a hand through her raven hair as Harry crouched down beside Ron. "Ron! Can you hear me?"

There was no response. His eyes were glassy, but he was breathing.

"Ron's fine," Charlie said. "I don't know what Pettigrew hit him with, but he seems to be fine." She glanced around and spotted Crookshanks, hissing madly and running off. "The cat's fine." Her gaze travelled to Snape, who was still levitating above the ground with his eyes closed. "Professor Snape's fine."

"What do we do?" Harry asked anxiously.

Charlie pressed a hand against her forehead. "Okay, we're going to the castle. We'll get help and then-"

A pained bark came from across the grounds. Charlie froze and glanced at Harry. Sirius was in trouble. Who knows what would happen to him by the time they made it to the castle? And there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment.

The two kids took off for the lake. When they reached the body of water they stopped in their tracks. Sirius was in human form and curled up on the ground, whimpering. A hundred Dementors were swarming towards them, the atmosphere turning frigid. Darkness started to descend upon her. "Think happy thoughts!" She ordered and raised her arm.

_I'm going to go live with Sirius. I'll get to escape from the Dursleys._

The Dementors were coming closer. Sirius was out cold. Harry struggled to perform the spell, but he couldn't do it.

"_Expecto patronum!" _

A feeble silver mist escaped her wand. Charlie gulped as the Dementors formed a wall around them. Harry fainted. Screams echoed in her head, and the fog grew thicker...she was freezing...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" She cried, dropping to her knees in the cold grass. _Sirius is innocent...I can live with him..._

As she raised her wand for a final try, a Dementor moved closer to her. A slimy hand reached out from under its cloak. It reached up-and removed its hood.

**Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, grey scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth...a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death-rattle.**

The desire to vomit hit her strongly. She was frozen with disgust and fear. Her wand clattered to her side as the screams got louder. The last thing she would ever hear would be the sound of her mother's death...

Just as the fog threatened to consume her it started to disappear. Bright, silvery light danced in front of her closed eyelids. Slowly she opened them to reveal the lake being illuminated with a brilliant silver light. The cold was ebbing away and the screaming stopped. Sick and trembling, Charlie glanced around. She caught sight of what looked like a silver unicorn galloping back across the water, the Dementors driven away. Sirius and Harry were both out cold. Someone on the other side of the lake reached up and patted the unicorn.

Charlie's strength left her and she finally fainted.


	18. A Trip in Time

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**A Trip in Time**

Severus Snape slowly sat up, his head pounding and dark eyes surveying the Hogwarts grounds. After the haze cleared he recalled exactly what had happened and sprang to his feet, muttering curses under his breath. A still figure slumped on the ground caught his attention and he felt his heart jump in his chest.

He quickly approached the figure and could not help but roll his eyes upon seeing the familiar shock of red hair. "Typical Weasley..." Severus bent down and felt for a pulse. It was there, but it was a bit slow.

"What in Merlin's name did Black do?" Severus snapped, conjuring up a stretcher for the unconscious Weasley. Something wet trickled down his cheek and he brushed it off. Blood stained his fingers and he scowled. "Potter and her gang are going to regret this."

_If they're still alive, that is._

Just as he shook that unappealing thought from his mind a great flash illuminated the lake on the far side of Hogwarts grounds. Severus froze, staring in disbelief at the blinding white light before quickly striding in its direction, levitating the youngest Weasley after him.

Severus cautiously made it to the bank of the lake and was once more caught off guard. Potter and Lupin were sprawled on the ground and Sirius Black was a few feet away, bleeding from his wounds. With a malicious smirk Severus bounded Black with a flick of his wand and put the remaining members of the Golden Quartet onto stretchers. The Potions master glanced up at the sky. The full moon shone like a silver orb against the inky sky.

Not wanting to encounter the werewolf Lupin, Severus quickly hurried in the direction of the castle, his heart pumping with anticipation of Black's demise.

...

_Ugh..._

Charlie slowly opened her eyes and gingerly sat up. Her stomach rolled with the movement and she moaned softly. She glanced around and discovered that she was in the infirmary. The candles left soft glows around the room and she could see the shadowy outlines of her three best friends. Ron was still knocked out and Madame Pomfrey was tending to his leg. Harry and Hermione were up and staring at the door, which was ajar.

"...that was very brave of you Severus. You deserve Order of Merlin, Second Class. Perhaps even First Class, if I can manage it."

"Thank you very much, Minister."

"That's quite the cut on your cheek. Black's doing, I suppose?"

"It was the work of Potter, Lupin and Weasley, actually. But they were under the Confundus Charm, Minister. It wasn't their fault."

"And you say that they were attacked by the Dementors?"

"It seems to be that way. I cannot tell you what drove them off, though. I came upon Potter and Lupin unconscious and Black as well. Of course, I took care of Black first so he couldn't do any more harm and took care of the three injured students. I'm very glad you decided to stick around."

"As am I. The wizarding world will be glad to hear of this. Black will be getting the Kiss very soon."

Charlie gaped and looked at Harry in panic. "What do we do?" She mouthed.

Harry shrugged helplessly. Hermione, who had woken up from her slumber just as her friends had been brought in, was still a bit lost on what was happening. All Harry had managed to tell her was that Black was truly innocent and it was all Peter Pettigrew's fault.

"You're awake. Good," Madame Pomfrey said as she came over to them. She handed Charlie and Harry a block of chocolate each and told them to eat it.

Charlie set the chocolate down on the nightstand. For the first time in her life she was not in the mood for chocolate. "Madame Pomfrey, I need to see the Headmaster right away!"

Madame Pomfrey smoothed her frazzled raven hair down a bit. "It's alright, Miss Potter. Black has been apprehended and he should be getting the Kiss any moment. The Headmaster is with him right now in Professor Flitwick's office."

"How's Ron?" Harry asked, glancing in concern at their redheaded friend.

"He'll be in a lot of pain, but he'll live." Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "I don't know what you three were thinking! You could have been killed!"

"I need to see the Headmaster right now!" Charlie insisted, getting out of bed. Her godfather needed her.

Her distressed shouts were heard in the corridor and the Minister and Professor Snape walked in. The Potions master gave her a disappointed look and Charlie knew he would probably hate her after this. Especially if she managed to get Sirius free.

"Miss Potter, you should be resting! You've been through a terrible ordeal and-"

"Sirius is innocent!" Charlie cried. "It was Peter Pettigrew this whole time! Peter faked his own death. We even saw him tonight!"

"You're very confused," Cornelius Fudge soothed. "Don't worry, the effects of the Charm will wear off soon and-"

"You have to listen to her!" Harry chimed in. "Sirius IS innocent! Pettigrew was an unregistered Animagus and was living as Ron's rat the entire time!"

Severus shook his head. "See? They were both Confunded by Black."

Charlie knew that whatever affection Snape might have been developing towards her were now being overpowered by his hatred of Sirius Black. "I'M PERFECTLY FINE!" Charlie shrieked.

Madame Pomfrey strode over to the group. "I must insist that you leave at once! You're upsetting my patients and that won't do!"

The door opened and in walked Albus Dumbledore. "Sirius Black is innocent!" Charlie cried at him.

"Headmaster!" Pomfrey said in exasperation. "These children need their rest and-"

"I do apologize, but I need to speak to Miss Potter and Mister Lupin right away."

Severus' eyes flashed and he turned to Dumbledore. "Surely you don't believe anything Black or these children say, do you?"

"They've been Confunded, Albus." The Minister reminded him.

"Perhaps they have been and perhaps not. But I must insist that-"

"Professor Snape, we haven't been Confunded!" Harry said earnestly. "You were knocked out when everything was explained-"

"BE QUIET, LUPIN!" Snape roared. "YOU KNOW NOTHING! YOU FOOLISHLY BELIEVED IN THE LIES TOLD TO YOU BY THAT-"

"Now, really!" The Minister cried, baffled. "There's no need to yell at the poor boy after what he's been through. He's not in the right state of mind. Control yourself!"

"VERITASERUM!"

Everyone went silent and turned to stare at the bushy-haired thirteen year old. Hermione flushed before lowering her voice. "Veritaserum is a powerful truth serum. Sirius Black has been locked in Azkaban, away from the antidote and his strength and power weakened. He'll have no immunity against it."

"That's ridiculous-!"

"Fine!" The Minister cried, throwing his arms in the air. "If it will make you see that Black is cold blooded murderer, then I give permission!"

Dumbledore paused and studied them for a moment. "I believe Professor Snape has some in storage. I shall go retrieve it. I will meet you all outside of Professor Flitwick's office."

Charlie motioned for Hermione to follow them. "Harry, can you stay with Ron and fill him in if he wakes up?" She asked softly.

Harry nodded and the two girls followed the Minister. Charlie could feel Snape burning holes in the back of her head.

"You know," Charlie whispered to Hermione. "I think Professor Dumbledore was about to suggest your Time Turner when you spoke up."

Hermione gaped at her. "How did you-?"

"Ron and I figured it out a while ago." Charlie said dismissively. "Do you really think the Veritaserum will work?"

Hermione nodded.

The group came upon the office and Dumbledore came minutes later with a vial of clear liquid. The Minister and Severus had their wands out just in case. Dumbledore pushed the door open.

Sirius slowly glanced up. He was slumped in the middle of the floor, his wounds bandaged. He brightened considerably when Charlie entered and his face darkened upon seeing Snape.

"Alright Black, this child that you Confunded-"Sirius looked outraged by the accusation. "-want to use Veritaserum on you. I've allowed it so these children can see what kind of monster you really are."

Dumbledore approached Black and they exchanged brief-almost knowing-glances. The potion was dripped into Sirius' mouth and the Minister waited a moment before asking his question. "Did you kill all those Muggles?"

"No. It was Peter Pettigrew." Black answered firmly.

Cornelius Fudge's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "W-was P-Peter Pettigrew really a r-rat?"

"Yes. He was an unregistered Animagus. He blew up the street and cut off his own finger and escaped in the sewers. He's been living with the Weasley family ever since."

"How do you know that?" Snape demanded.

"From the paper he gave me." Sirius pointed at Fudge.

The Minster flushed. "Yes, well, I gave him a news scroll when I did my inspection. I didn't see the harm in it...Were you planning on killing Charlotte Potter?"

"No. I was out for vengeance against Peter Pettigrew. He betrayed Charlie's parents by revealing their location to You-Know-Who."

The look on the Minister's face was priceless.

"He's lying!" Severus snarled. "He's tricking you! Give him the Kiss!"

"Now Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "You heard Miss Granger. Sirius has not had the chance to build up immunity against Veritaserum. This is the one-hundred percent truth."

Cornelius dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. "My, my...I never expected this. But then again we never gave him a proper trial to begin with...we all just assumed...I do apologize for all of this...but you know you must be charged in some way for breaking out of Azkaban and breaking into the school. Didn't you attack a boy?"

"I meant to kill that rat. I got caught off guard and dropped the knife," Sirius said.

"Hmm...I'll have to discuss all of this with the Wizengamot. You'll have to be sent back to Azkaban until we can arrange the trial-"

"That won't be necessary." Dumbledore said firmly. "I still have some items to discuss with Sirius. I will be his Keeper until the trial is set."

"But Albus-!"

Dumbledore shook his head and the Minister reluctantly agreed. After all, he still needed the wise and powerful wizard for advice, and refusing this request might cause Dumbledore to leave him to his own devices. "Very well. What an odd day this turned out to be. An execution, the innocence of-"

Hermione suddenly realized something and pressed her hand to her eyes. Charlie stared at her in concern as Hermione raced out of the room. "Uh...I don't think she's feeling good. I'll check up on her."

With a quick smile in Sirius' direction and an apologetic one at a furious Snape Charlie hurried after her best friend.

She found the bushy-haired girl pacing up and down the corridor, muttering to herself. "What's wrong?"

"Professor Dumbledore was going to ask us in private to use the Time Turner to free Sirius, right?"

"Probably."

"Well, he was also probably thinking that we could free Buckbeak as well! After all, how were we going to get Sirius down from the third floor without Buckbeak? Oh, and now Hagrid will never get Buckbeak back! I am SUCH an IDIOT!"

"Now, I will not have that kind of talk in my school."

The two girls jumped when Albus Dumbledore came around the corner, his silver beard reflecting the light from the candles and his blue eyes stern. "If there is one name you are never allowed to call yourself, Miss Granger, it is that. You came up with an idea to help Sirius and wanted to use it before he got the Kiss. I myself never thought the Minister would actually agree to such a thing. But Sirius now has a chance at freedom, thanks to you, Miss Granger."

"But what about Buckbeak?" Hermione insisted.

The twinkle shone in Dumbledore's blue eyes. "Well now, if you can manage to be back in this room before ten to twelve, then I think everything would be fine. Three turns should be enough."

Hermione beamed and Charlie watched in awe as Hermione removed a golden chain with an hourglass at the end of it from the neck of her robes. Just as she did so Harry came sprinting around the corner, face red from exhaustion.

"There-you-are," he wheezed. "Ron's awake and he's kind of freaking out-wait, what's that?"

Dumbledore ushered Harry down the corridor. "It will be explained in due time, Mister Lupin. Right now I believe we should go calm down Mister Weasley and prepare a Pain-Relieving Potion for your uncle."

A baffled Harry was led down the corridor and the two girls ducked into a nearby room. Hermione slung the chain around Charlie's neck and twirled the hour glass three times. Charlie gasped as colours and sounds rushed by them and the room dissolved. Soon they struck ground again and found themselves in the empty Entrance Hall. The sunlight shone through the glass windows and danced across the tiled floor.

"Whoa..." Charlie breathed. "So that's a Time Turner..."

"Come on," Hermione urged, shoving Charlie into the broom cupboard across the hall. "One of the most important rules of time travel is not to be seen!"

"That's not going to be difficult," Charlie muttered sarcastically as Hermione shut the closet door. The bushy-haired girl pressed her ear to the wood and listened intently.

"Someone's coming!" She whispered. "I think it's us...yes, it doesn't sound like a lot of people and they're moving slowly...it's definitely us. We're going to Hagrid's...and we've just went down the steps!"

Charlie whistled. "This is really weird. It must have been a pain, getting to all your classes like this."

"You have no idea how many times I've had to duck into an empty classroom or into a broom cupboard." Hermione muttered. "I think we can go now."

The two left the broom cupboard and headed down the stone steps. The sun was starting to set once more, the golden glow drenching the land. Charlie shook her head. "If we manage to do this without getting spotted then I will be firm in the belief that we can do anything."

"Oh, I hope no one looks out the windows." Hermione moaned, glancing nervously back at the castle.

"I guess we can run for it," Charlie suggested reluctantly.

"We should. But we'll have to go around the greenhouses and avoid Hagrid's front door. We should be arriving there soon."

Hermione broke into a jog and Charlie followed. They ran across the gardens and behind the greenhouses. They slipped around the Whomping Willow and made it to the cover of the Forest. Panting heavily, the two girls crept through the trees.

They neared Hagrid's hut and could see his little garden and Buckbeak tied to the fence post. Hagrid opened the door and Charlie shook her head in disbelief when she heard Hermione's voice come from under the Cloak.

"It's us. We're under the Cloak!"

"I told yeh not teh come!" Hagrid croaked. A second later he shut the door.

"Okay, this is one of the weirdest things we have ever done." Charlie said flatly. "This is so freaky!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and peered around. "Let's move a little closer to Buckbeak. We'll have to wait until the Committee gets here and sees Buckbeak tied up or else they'll think Hagrid set him free."

"Oh good." Charlie drawled. "We have a minute to free Buckbeak and drag him into the Forest. Totally doable."

A surprised shriek came from the hut. "I just found Scabbers. Do I really sound like that when I scream?"

Charlie snorted. Her green eyes glanced down the slope and she gasped softly. "Here come the Committee."

"And there we go," Hermione whispered. The muted conversation between Hagrid and four invisible children was heard briefly before Hagrid went back into his hut. Dumbledore, Fudge, the executioner and another member entered Hagrid's hut.

"**Where's the beast?"** The executioner demanded.

"Tied teh the post outside," Hagrid said.

Charlie ducked down as Macnair's face appeared in the window. Fudge said something about signing papers and Macnair reluctantly took his eyes off of Buckbeak and left the window. "Okay, I got this." Charlie whispered before sneaking up to the beast.

Trying to ignore Fudge's voice floating towards her, Charlie bowed to Buckbeak and was greatly relieved when he returned her bow. She jerked at the knot tying Buckbeak to the fence and gripped the rope tightly. "Come on now," she soothed.

But Buckbeak didn't move an inch.

"I don't have time for this!" Charlie hissed. She yanked as hard as she could on the rope and nearly had breakdown when she heard Fudge declare that it was time.

The footsteps reached the door-

"You need to sign as well, Macnair." Dumbledore informed.

The footsteps retreated.

Close to collapsing, Charlie managed to lead the irritated Buckbeak into the Forest. Hermione gripped the bark of a tree, looking close to a panic attack. "Next time, you can do it." Charlie muttered, her heart pounding from the close call. "Thanks for the help, by the way."

Hermione waved her hand dismissively and they crept further into the Forest. When the front door slammed open the trio froze. The Hippogriff swiveled his head towards the garden and listened intently for his master's voice.

"WHERE IS IT?" The executioner bellowed.

"He must have pulled himself loose," Dumbledore said in amusement.

"Beaky!" Hagrid bawled with joy. **"Yeh clever boy!"**

There was the swish of an act and then a thud. In his fury the executioner slammed the axe into the fence. "We need to search the grounds!"

"I highly doubt a thief would have led the Hippogriff away on foot." Dumbledore said in amusement. "Hagrid, how about a cup of tea? Or perhaps a brandy?"

"O' course," Hagrid muttered. There was the sound of soft cursing and footsteps, and then the slam of the front door. Hermione and Charlie let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, now what?" Charlie asked.

Hermione sighed. "Well, I suppose we'll have to figure out what to do with Buckbeak. We have a few hours before we're to be back in that classroom..."

"Well, I guess we better go to the Whomping Willow and follow the timeline of events," Charlie said dryly. The two girls led Buckbeak through the Forest and towards the edge, where they would be able to view the tree without getting seen.

Ron's muffled shouts could be heard. Hermione shook her head. "It's a wonder no one heard that."

"We can't give Buckbeak back to Hagrid," Charlie mused as they walked. "I suppose if Sirius ends up getting thrown back into Azkaban, we could use him to stage a breakout-I'm just kidding!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well...we can't give him to Ron's brother Charlie...but what about Bill?"

"Oh yes, because we're totally going to make it to Egypt in the next couple hours." Charlie drawled.

"Maybe he could find Bill himself!" Hermione snapped.

"Maybe Bill doesn't even want a Hippogriff!" Charlie retorted. "We don't have time to-oh wait! Can I call for Dob-?"

Hermione threw her hands up. "That's breaking the law!"

"Look, all I have to do is tell him he never saw us. He'll be bound by master/servant secrecy law or whatever. He won't tell anyone and we'll have saved Buckbeak."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Fine, but if we dismantle the entire time/space continuum, I'm blaming you."

"Wonderful. Hey, Dobby!"

There was a _pop _and Dobby appeared before her. "Hello, Miss Potter! And Miss Hermy! What can Dobby do for you?"

The Houself was disregarding the presence of the Hippogriff completely. Charlie could not help but grin. "Dobby, I need you to go find Bill Weasley and ask him if he has an interest in wanting a Hippogriff."

"Of course, Miss Potter. Dobby will be right back!" He _popped _away and Hermione groaned.

"What if Bill asks where we got the Hippogriff? What if he asks Hagrid for advice? What if-?"

Charlie held up a hand. "Okay, we give Buckbeak a different name and tell Bill that it's a long story we can't share. Hagrid thinks Buckbeak flew away, so if that occasion should arise Hagrid will think that Buckbeak flew all the way to Egypt. And if Bill happens to mention our names, we'll just tell Hagrid that we somehow discovered where Buckbeak ended up and told Bill about it."

"...and how would we have discovered Buckbeak was in Egypt?"

"I don't have all the answers! Fine, we'll just tell him that he can't mention this to Hagrid! Does that sound less suspicious?" Charlie demanded.

Hermione scowled and glanced at the Whomping Willow. "Oh...that looked like it hurt."

Charlie flinched as she witnessed the branch cut across Harry's face. "This is so weird...we're getting beat up by a tree. Oh, there's Sirius..."

The big black dog tackled her and latched onto Ron. Hermione covered her eyes as Ron got dragged towards the gape in the trunk. "Oh, this is horrible."

"There you go, running back to the castle," Charlie watched as she and Harry disappeared after Ron and Hermione took off for the castle.

"You must be joking!" Hermione cried as Dumbledore emerged up the slope a few seconds later. "I could have saved all that time!"

Dumbledore and the Committee members disappeared and Dobby returned. "Bill has said he love having a Hippogriff!" Dobby relayed happily. "Although he wonders where Miss Potter has gotten one."

"Er...tell him it's a long story we just can't share. Just say we saved this Hippogriff from death and not to tell anyone else where he got it from." Charlie ordered. "And this has to stay between us as well, okay Dobby?"

"Dobby will always keep mistress' secrets!" Dobby promised earnestly. "Dobby will take Hippogriff to Bill right now, if you would like!"

"Thanks Dobby. And don't forget, this stays a major secret."

Dobby nodded his floppy ears, climbed onto Buckbeak and took off into the dark sky. Charlie scratched her chin. "Couldn't he just have Apparated Buckbeak there? Huh. I guess he wanted a ride. Not a problem, so long as he's back before school lets out. Can't have the Dursleys finding him on the front stoop..." _Oh, I might not even have to go back! Hopefully._

"We are in so much trouble," Hermione moaned.

"Oh, calm down. I'll take all the blame." Charlie plopped down on the cold dirt and glanced at the Whomping Willow. By that time Lupin had probably already gone through the tunnel-yep, there was Snape, looking like the cat with the canary.

Hermione sat down as well. They had an hour or so left to kill before they had to go back. "What happened by the lake? Harry didn't get to tell me that part."

"Oh, well, the Dementors pretty much ambushed us. Harry and Sirius fainted and I was about to as well. Then I saw someone on the other side of the lake cast a Patronus. It looked like a unicorn."

"Do you know who the person was?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

Charlie shrugged. "It kind of looked like my mother, but I know that's not possible. I'm not sure who it was."

They sat still for a moment. The rustling of leaves alerted them and they peered through the thicket. There they came, out of the tunnel and onto the grounds. "Oh...I really wish I could run out there and nail Pettigrew a good one."

"Don't even think about it!" Hermione said hotly.

The two girls watched as the moon emerged from behind the fluffy grey clouds. Charlie winced as Lupin began transforming and at Harry's horrified expression. She frowned slightly when Lupin twisted madly and Sirius tackled him. "Wait...doesn't Professor Lupin come running into the Forest?"

Hermione turned white. With soft shrieks the two ran as fast as they could, shoving branches out of there way and hearing Lupin howl in the distance. Charlie dragged Hermione towards Hagrid's hut, hoping the large man was spending a few hours down at the pub.

She glanced quickly in the window. No one but Fang.

The pounding off paws caused Hermione to wrench the door open and shove Charlie inside. Fang bounded up and tacked her in dog version of a hug.

Charlie glanced out the window. "I can't see a thing. I'm going to go see what's happening. I'll come get you when it's time."

Hermione nodded warily. She had no desire to go back out there. "Remember, don't be seen."

Charlie headed around the hut and for the lake. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and hummed softly as she went to the other side to view what would be happening. She paused briefly when she realized that it was very possible that she would run into whoever saved her, Harry and Sirius.

Hesitantly, she cautiously stood in the shadows a distance from where she'd seen the mysterious figure. She should show up at any moment...

The Dementors had surrounded the group across the lake. She could see her feeble attempts at casting a Patronus. Her brow furrowed as one Dementor got closer. Where was her rescuer?

Charlie ventured out and glanced around the bank. She was the only there.

She was-

Oh.

Slightly awed, Charlie removed her wand from the sleeve of her robe. **"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"**

A dazzling silver animal burst from the tip of her wand. Charlie watched in awe as it galloped across the black water and charged through the circle of Dementors. The hooded beasts scattered with high-pitched shrieks.

Charlie stared as the animal came back towards her. It was a unicorn. She reached out to pet it but it vanished before she could do so.

"What did you do?"

The raven-haired girl glanced behind her. Hermione stormed towards her with a look of fury. "I told you not to mess with anything!"

Charlie dragged Hermione behind a bush. "Listen, it was _me _I saw casting that Patronus. It wasn't my mom or anyone else-I saw me! Isn't that weird?"

Hermione looked impressed. "It takes a lot of advanced magic to conjure up a Patronus to drive away all those Dementors."

"Well, I'd already done it, so I knew I could do it again." Charlie explained.

Hermione peered past her shoulder and pointed. Charlie turned around to see Snape stalk towards them and immediately bind Sirius before putting Harry and her on stretchers.

Hermione looked at her watch. "We have forty minutes before we have to be in that room. By the time we make it back to the castle, we'll have twenty-five minutes."

"And by the time we get to that classroom without being spotted, we should be right on time." Charlie agreed.

The two girls broke into a jog. They weaved through the trees and emerged on the front grounds. They could see Snape's dark figure enter the castle. "Okay, let's give it a minute or two..." Hermione whispered.

"You know, Professor Snape is going to kill me," Charlie mused. "I knocked him out and believed in Sirius."

"You can worry about that later," Hermione muttered. "Let's go."

They raced up the stone steps and entered the deserted Entrance Hall. They had to throw themselves into a broom closet at one point to keep Snape and the Minster from seeing them. Snape was going on a tirade on how Black was scum and a professional at trickery, and he should be given the Kiss.

From the look on the Minister's face, it seemed like Snape was going to lose his Order of Merlin, Second Class.

"Ten minutes," Hermione hissed. She and Charlie jogged down the corridors. Peeves zoomed around the corner unexpectedly and Charlie dove through the secret passage through the tapestry with Hermione right behind her.

Hermione waved the dust from her face and pushed the tapestry aside. "He's gone."

Tired, the two girls finally shuffled up to the classroom a few minutes before it was time. They slumped against the door and could hear their muffled voices on the other side before there was silence.

Charlie and Hermione high-fived.

Dumbledore came around the corner just then. He smiled brightly. "Just on time. Everything went smoothly, I assume?"

"Yes, Professor." Hermione said with a nod. "Buckbeak is safe."

"Good, good! Ronald and Harry are waiting for you in the infirmary. You ought to get back there yourself, or Madame Pomfrey may bite my head off." He chuckled. "Sirius has been escorted to my office and I must go there to discuss some things. You children saved some lives tonight. Be proud of yourselves."

He patted Hermione on the shoulder and she beamed at him. Dumbledore winked at Charlie before setting off. The two girls made it to the infirmary, where Madame Pomfrey nearly tossed them onto their cots and checked them over irritably once more.

In hushed voices Charlie and Hermione explained what had happened to Ron and Harry. The ginger shook his head and slumped against the pillow. "Well. I missed a lot."

"Will your uncle be alright?" Hermione asked Harry in concern.

"Yeah. He'll be back by dawn, if not later." Harry assured them. "He'll be in here for a bit, due to the injuries he got from Sirius."

"I can finally escape the Dursleys," Charlie said dreamily, slumping against her pillows.

"Snape looked murderous when I came back down here with Dumbledore," Harry informed them. "I don't think he's too happy Sirius is getting a chance to prove his innocence."

"I'll talk to him later." Charlie muttered. "Right now, I need sleep."

After all, running through time was exhausting.

**Here's hoping I covered all the bases. I might have screwed something up along the way xD And if it seems like something is missing, it will probably be explained in the next chapter. Man, this took forever.**

**Thank you KaseyKay10 for the suggestion :)**


	19. Another Year, Another Summer

**I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are in bold. **

**Another Year, Another Summer**

Charlie fidgeted in her sleep, frowning slightly. Something heavy was sitting on her chest...and she was having trouble breathing. Her green eyes fluttered open and she nearly shrieked upon seeing her Houself perched on her chest, smiling happily. "Dobby!"

"Miss is awake!" Dobby said cheerfully. Charlie inhaled deeply when he hopped off her chest and landed beside her bed. "Dobby was worried!"

"I'm fine Dobby." Charlie assured him and patted his head. "Did you get the Hippogriff to Bill safely?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yes, miss!" Dobby nodded earnestly. "Dobby made sure Bill knew that Miss Potter wanted to keep this a secret!"

"Thank you," Charlie said gratefully. "I really appreciate it."

"Anything for Charlotte Potter!" Dobby said with a bow. "Dobby will be seeing Miss Potter before she leaves?"

"Of course, Dobby."

The Houself _popped _away and Charlie sat up. The sun filtered through the high glass windows and she could see her friends starting to awaken. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Harry wrinkled his nose and threw his pillow at her. "It was awful. I'm going to be traumatized for the rest of my life."

Ron scowled. "You're not the one with the broken leg. Say, shouldn't your uncle be back by now?"

"He came back at dawn. He took his potion and left." Harry informed them. "He was pretty upset. I told him we're all fine and that it wasn't his fault."

"Good. I don't blame him in the slightest." Charlie glanced around. "Alright, the only way Madame Pomfrey is going to let us out is if we pester her. I want to get out of here and see Sirius and I still need to talk to Professor Snape. Start being annoying."

It took ten minutes before an irritated Madame Pomfrey kicked them all out of the infirmary. Ron's leg would take a few days before it fully healed (magic was wonderful) and so he hobbled down the corridors on his crutches.

The castle was empty, save for them and a handful of teachers. The four kids roamed the corridors before running into Hagrid, who had come to visit them. "Hello, Hagrid."

The large man beamed. "Yeh're alrigh'!"

"Perfectly fine," Hermione assured him. "Asides from a few scratches and bruises."

"And a broken leg," Ron added.

"This is grea' news! An' I have more. Guess wha' happened teh Buckbeak?"

Charlie did her very best to look curious. "What happened to Buckbeak?"

"He escaped! I mus' have no' tied the knot properly." Hagrid smiled widely. "Beaky is pro'lly flying through the skies righ' abou' now. I've bin celebratin' all nigh'!"

"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed. "That ought to bother Mr. Malfoy."

"I wish I could be there to see his face when he gets the news." Ron said dreamily.

"Fer a while, I was concerned Lupin might o' got a hold o' him. I know he can' help it, an' I understand, but I'm glad Buckbeak managed teh-"

"What do you mean got a hold of him?" Harry asked nervously.

Hagrid blinked in surprise. "Didn' yeh hear? Snape blabbed teh the Slytherins this mornin'. Everyone knows Lupin is a werewolf. He's packin' up righ' now teh leave."

Charlie scowled. She wasn't particular impressed with Snape at the moment. Harry jumped up and raced for the castle. Charlie hurried after him. Ron wasn't able to move far with his broken leg and stayed behind with Hermione, who decided to keep him company.

The raven-haired girl followed her brother all the way to Professor Lupin's office. Sure enough, there he was, packing the last of his items into a suitcase. "You didn't tell me!" Harry accused, frowning at his guardian.

Remus glanced over at him and sighed. "Sorry, pup. But you went through a lot last night and I figured you could wait until you came home for summer holidays to find out that I resigned."

"Please don't," Charlie begged. "You're the best DADA professor we've ever had!"

"Can't Professor Dumbledore do something?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid not. Since Snape let it slip this morning-"

"Oh please, Snivellus knew exactly what he was doing. He deliberately sabotaged you."

Everyone glanced up as Sirius sauntered into the room, looking happier than he'd ever been. The man smiled fondly and ruffled Charlie's hair. "Remind me to thank that friend of yours. She did some quick thinking."

"Sirius," Remus said warningly. "You shouldn't talk bad about one of their professors, no matter how much you hate him."

"Are you sure you don't want me to hex him for you?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening hopefully.

"No. The last thing you need is to land yourself back in Azkaban." Remus rolled his eyes and snapped his suitcase closed.

"You're not just leaving because Professor Snape told everyone you're a werewolf, are you?" Charlie asked.

"By this time tomorrow, hundreds upon hundreds of letters will be pouring in, telling Dumbledore they don't want a monster teaching their children. I don't want him to have that hassle."

Sirius snorted. "You know Dumbledore doesn't care."

"I do. I could have bitten any of you last night. I won't let that happen again." Remus said firmly. Charlie sighed, knowing that he wouldn't accept any argument she had. "Charlie, I heard you drove off the Dementors. What was your Patronus like?"

"Oh. It was a unicorn."

Sirius smiled slightly. "Kind of like James. Although he probably would have keeled over if his Patronus was a unicorn."

Remus laughed. "Your father was a stag when he transformed and his Patronus was a stag. That's why we called him Prongs."

Sirius glanced around Remus and grinned widely. "Hey! I haven't seen this thing in years." He reached over and grabbed the Marauders Map. "Oh man...good memories, huh Remus?"

A wistful look crossed their faces. They had gone through so much...lost so much. Their schoolboy memories would be ones they treasured forever.

"You know, I really shouldn't be giving this to you, considering your penchant for getting into life-threatening danger." Remus plucked the Map from Sirius' grimy hands and handed it to Charlie. "But I think James would have wanted you to have it. Along with his Cloak, which I managed to rescue from the Shrieking Shack."

"And this is where Lily would kill us," Sirius chuckled fondly.

"Use that stuff responsibly," Remus warned. "No getting yourselves in danger or snooping where you shouldn't be." He looked pointedly at Harry, who grinned sheepishly.

"Yes Uncle Remus."

There was a knock on the door and Albus Dumbledore strode in. "Remus, your carriage is at the gates." The man looked sternly at Sirius. "And you were supposed to have been in my spare quarters."

Sirius grinned. "Since when did I ever follow the rules?"

Dumbledore rolled his eyes and smiled. "You may escort Remus to the front doors, but no further."

"It's like I'm twelve years old again," Sirius muttered with a pout. Remus laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Come on, pup. You can escort me to the gates."

Harry smiled and followed after the two men. Charlie sighed softly and sunk into a spare seat. The one DADA professor she liked had left. Maybe the job was cursed.

"What's the matter, Charlotte?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"Remus is leaving and Pettigrew escaped." Charlie swallowed hard. "And...I may have allowed something terrible to happen."

"Like what?"

"Well, Professor Trelawney made a prediction. She said that Voldemort's servant would be freed and that he would help his master return to power." She stared ruefully at her Headmaster. "The servant is Pettigrew."

Dumbledore didn't look worried in the slightest. "She made a true prediction? That makes a total of two. Perhaps I should give her a pay raise."

Charlie smiled slightly. "Sir...if Voldemort, sorry, _when _Voldemort comes back, "A shiver of unease ran down her spine. "Does that mean it was my fault?"

"Of course not. From what I've heard, you saved Peter from death. **The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed...Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that."**

Charlie mulled this over. "So...when Voldemort comes back to power..."

"It will be with a servant who is in your debt. **When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them.**"

Although Charlie felt sick at the thought of sharing a bond with Pettigrew, she knew that one day it might come in handy. "Sir...I know this sounds ridiculous, but for the briefest of moments, I thought I saw my mother cast the Patronus."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I can understand how one would make that mistake. But remember this. The dead never truly leave us. They are with us in the time we need them the most. In spirit and through you, Prongs rode again last night, perhaps not in the literal form."

Charlie smiled. "They told you, huh?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Last night. I must say, I was impressed. They pulled the wool over my eyes. I'm losing my touch in my old age."

...

Remus and Sirius approached the front doors of the castle. Remus handed his bags to his charge. "Can you bring these to the carriage for me? I'll be there in a moment."

Harry looked at him curiously over the bags before nodding and running off. Sirius looked after him for a long moment before turning back. "You still haven't told him?"

Remus shook his head. "It's to keep them both safe."

"You have no idea how many times I nearly gave everything away." Sirius admitted. "But I figured that it wasn't the best time to bring up sibling relations when I was trying to get my revenge."

"You know, I wondered why Voldemort never knew of Harry," Remus mused. "But it all makes sense now."

"It's a good thing Peter wasn't around for the birth." Sirius muttered darkly. "James and Lily weren't expecting twins. All Peter knew was that they would be having a girl."

"And Dumbledore had them separated just in time." Remus closed his eyes as that horrible night rang clear through his mind. The fear, the franticness, the sobbing Harry...

"Dumbledore probably didn't want me to know that they were separated..." Sirius mused. "But Hagrid let it slip as I went to see if I could corner Peter. He probably doesn't remember that, though. You took Harry away that morning on Dumbledore's orders, right?"

Remus sighed heavily. "Lily and James were heartbroken. But they didn't want Harry to get killed should Dumbledore's prediction be true. And it was...that man seems to know everything."

"Are you ever going to tell them?" Sirius asked.

"Perhaps. But not now."

But Charlie and Harry knew more than the two men thought.

...

Charlie shuffled down the corridor and jumped slightly when she almost ran into Professor Snape. "Good morning, sir."

Snape sneered at her. "Potter."

Charlie sighed. "I understand why you're mad. And I can't expect anything to change. Years of dislike and hatred are hard to dissolve. I lived with the Dursleys for thirteen years-I know all about it. But before you start lashing out at me again, I just want to tell you something. We both have different opinions on matters. Your dislike of my father and his friends will never go away. I've accepted that. But I don't appreciate the jabs you give just to antagonize me or Sirius or Remus.

Before Snape could yell at her for her insolence, Charlie barrelled on. "And I know you told everyone Remus was a werewolf out of spite. I don't that was necessary, but I also know you don't care what I think. But do you think Mom would have appreciated that? No. And I stood up for Sirius because he was a man who was truly innocent. Years of hatred will never change that.

"So you can scream at me and hate me all you want. I stand firm in my opinions of my father and his friends. I'm willing to accept your dislike of them. But I will not share it. See you next year, Professor. Have a good summer."

With her head held high and eyes flashing in determination, Charlie strode off. Snape stood stiff for a moment, watching her go with his black eyes.

"...just like her mother."

...

"May I talk to you for just a moment?"

Charlie paused by the front door and turned around. Dumbledore smiled at her, but Charlie could tell some bad news was on the way. "Yes?"

"I am sorry, but Sirius' trial is not set until the middle of summer. The Ministry is also firm in that you should not be allowed to live with him until he's legitimately been proven innocent."

Charlie felt her eyes grow wide. Dumbledore continued. "Sirius is not happy either, but I'm afraid I can do nothing about. He will be under close watch by me and you will report back to the Dursleys for-"

"!"

...

It took a while for Charlie to calm down, and when she did she shuffled miserably to the lake, where her friends were waiting for her. "What was that all about?" Ron asked, having heard her scream.

"I have to go back to the Dursleys until Sirius is proven innocent by your fancy wizard's court." Charlie moaned, collapsing in the grass.

"That sucks," Ron said sympathetically. "Hey, I'll come rescue you as soon as I can."

"No flying cars!" Harry howled.

Charlie and Ron dissolved into fits of laughter as Hermione rolled her eyes.

...

The school year had finally ended. Charlie carried her trunks and Snowy's cage to the station, her heart weighed down by the knowledge that she would not be escaping her relatives so soon. Crookshanks stalked ahead of them. Ron limped his way to the train and Dobby trailed behind, carrying his stuff.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Hermione asked the elf anxiously.

"Dobby is sure, miss!"

They all got settled in a compartment and Dobby hugged Charlie goodbye. "Dobby will be seeing Miss Potter soon!"

"You will," Charlie promised. "And Ron will take good care of you during the summer."

"You can share my socks, if you want." Ron offered.

Dobby burst into tears and Apparated away. Charlie laughed. "Well, we're all alive."

"Barely," Hermione muttered. "Between exams and nearly dying by werewolf, I think I lost a few years off my life."

Charlie glanced closely. "Your Time Turner is gone."

"I couldn't use that thing for another year. I dropped Muggle Studies and Divination, so I have a normal Time Table."

Ron groaned. "Who's going to help me in Muggle Studies?"

Charlie laughed. "You've still got Harry."

"He's useless at Muggle Studies!"

"Excuse me!" Harry cried. "But we managed to figure out the telephone, didn't we?"

Ron brightened. "Oh yeah! I can call you this summer, Charlie. And it's also the Quidditch World Cup. My dad gets tickets from work, so we can all go!"

Something grey and small zoomed at their window and smashed into it. Startled, Hermione opened the window and a tiny owl flew in, twittering madly. Ron snatched the note hanging from its talons and read aloud.

_Dear Ron and Charlie,_

_Since I made you lose your rat, I figured the least I could do was go and get you an owl. Tell Charlie not to worry, Dumbledore came with me. I feel like a four year old. Oh, and make sure Charlie knows that if her relatives mistreat her, I'll come sort them out._

_By the way, I ought to explain a few things I didn't get a chance to. Yes, I sent the Firebolt. Crookshanks brought the mail order in for me and I used my own money. Don't ask how I got it, it wasn't easy. Plus, I apologize for scaring you, Charlie. It was me you saw when you left your uncle's house._

_So, enclosed is the permission form for Hogsmeade. Now you can have fun without worrying if you'll get caught or not._

_See you soon!_

_Sirius_

Charlie grinned. "Cool!"

Ron stared at his new owl in awe. After a moment he held out the owl to Crookshanks. "He's not some crazy nut-job, is he?"

Crookshanks sniffed the owl and purred. Ron grinned. "Sweet! I got an owl!"

A few hours later the train pulled up to King's Cross. Charlie burst through the barrier and sighed upon seeing her relatives waiting impatiently.

"I'll call you about the World Cup," Ron promised.

"Keep your head held high." Hermione advised.

"If they do anything, I'm just a letter away." Harry handed her his address. "I figure this way you wouldn't have to wait for an owl to come show up so you could send letters to us."

Charlie smiled gratefully. "Thanks guys. I'll see you soon." With a wave, she went off to join her relatives.

She had a feeling this summer would be more bearable.

After all, she could never say she had an escaped murder for a godfather before.

...innocent, yes. But they didn't have to know that.

**Book Three is done! If I forgot anything, let me know and I'll edit this chapter xD**

**Man, Book Four is big...but good thing summer is fast approaching xD**

**See you next time!**


End file.
